Background Information.

Compass Mk II was originally conceived as Southern Cross Airlines but chose to trade under the Compass brand, which seemed to have had popular support among the Australian public. This may have been a commercial error as many suppliers required Compass Mk II to purchase items and pay up front, rather than lease the same items as would normally be the case.

It commenced operations in 1992 with three McDonnell Douglas MD82 and two McDonnell Douglas MD83 aircraft. It collapsed less than a year later in 1993. Two further MD83 aircraft that were on order were not delivered following the final demise of the airline. Southern Cross chairman Douglas Reid was convicted in 1997 of theft and false accounting amounting to $10 million in relation to the collapse. He received a record 10-year jail sentence.