Pursuits
Bush Pilots Tout $16,000 Adventures as Australian Mines Shut
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Three years ago, Scott McMillan bought a Fokker 70 jet to fly workers to sites including BHP Billiton Ltd.’s Olympic Dam, Australia’s largest underground mine. He’s now taking U.S. retirees on outback adventures that cost almost $16,000 a head.
McMillan, managing director of Alliance Aviation Services Ltd., hopes tourism revenue will help reverse a slide in earnings since the company listed in 2011 as a provider of flights to the mining industry. He’s thinking along the same lines as Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens, who hopes tourism can help offset slumping resources investment.