Sunstate Airlines is a subsidiary of Qantas which operates regional flights under the QantasLink banner throughout Queensland; and on the trunk routes between Sydney and Canberra, and between Brisbane and Canberra. Its head office is in Bowen Hills, Brisbane. The company's roots extend back to 1975, when Noosa Air began operating in December of that year between Maryborough and Brisbane using a Britten-Norman Islander. Maryborough businessman Bevan Whitaker, owner of the parent company of Noosa Air, Whitaker Pty. Ltd., set up a second airline that commenced operations in December 1981,... serving intrastate routes in Queensland vacated by Trans Australia Airlines with Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante aircraft. This second airline was called Sunstate. Initially the two airlines used separate airline codes. In 1983, Sunstate changed its code to that of Noosa Air, and by the end of the year, the two airlines had merged fully. From 1 January 1984, all flights were conducted under the Sunstate name as part of TAA's Queensland network. The diverse, combined fleet consisted of two Islanders, two Bandeirantes, three de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters and a Short 330.
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