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115-529: The idea for Diners Club was conceived at the Majors Cabin Grill restaurant in New York City in 1949. Diners Club cofounder Frank McNamara was dining with clients and realized he had left his wallet in another suit. His wife paid the bill, and McNamara thought of a multipurpose charge card as a way to avoid similar embarrassments in the future. He discussed the idea with the restaurant owner at

230-566: A flight engineer in the cockpit by agreement with Ansett's crew unions. Despite being an existing operator of the Boeing 737 (and long-standing Boeing customer in general), Ansett placed an order worth over $ 1 billion in 1985 for the Airbus A320 , which gradually replaced the 727s in the late 1980s/early 1990s and were branded by the airline as the 'Skystar'. Two years later Ansett ordered 21 new Boeing 737s (in -300 and −500 form ) to phase out

345-529: A 50 per cent stake in a recapitalised and expanded company renamed Ansett New Zealand . Ansett NZ adopted the same white Landor livery as its parent company, but with the four red stars of the New Zealand flag on the tail in place of the six white ones (as per the flag of Australia ) on the Ansett livery, and therefore also lacking the green and orange 'speed stripes' on the tail. In its own preparation for

460-658: A 50% shareholding in the Australian franchise. In January 1999, Ansett sold its shareholding to Citigroup . On June 1, 2022, National Australia Bank bought Citigroup's Consumer Banking business in Australia, including the Australian branch of Diners Club. The Diners Club Corporate Card, Citi Mastercard Corporate Executive Companion Card, Diners Club Business Card and the Citi Mastercard Business Companion Card previously marketed under

575-541: A competing venture in California before merging his California-based Dine and Sign with Diners Club. McNamara's original conception was to make a card that could be used as a means of payment in restaurants around New York City; however, he later expanded its usage to other types of establishments, including hotels, car rentals, and flower shops. The company started building its customer base by offering their cards to prominent businessmen. Shortly afterward, Matty Simmons ,

690-526: A day. Air New Zealand attempted to cut Ansett's costs while expecting to maintain the same level of revenue. This did not work, as the cost cutting hurt Ansett. Additionally, Ansett's fleet had been allowed to deteriorate, a situation that came to a head with a partial grounding of its Boeing 767 fleet during the Christmas 2000 season and a full grounding in Easter 2001. Ansett was thus unable to compete with

805-628: A deal with Allinpay, a Chinese payment provider, to be the exclusive carrier of all the cards that are part of the Discover Global Network. Apart from that, Allinpay intended to increase the card acceptance in Hong Kong, especially by "travel oriented merchants". In Chile, the Diners Club franchise was long held by Citibank Chile until it was acquired by Banco de Chile in 2008, who then took over said franchise. In Colombia,

920-503: A denser and more accessible service pattern and much lower fares than the ones set by regulation charged by Ansett and TAA. East-West had become Ansett's main competitor in many of its regional services and the airline's growth played a large part in the successful campaign to overturn the Two Airlines Policy. In preparation for deregulation East-West's owners sold the company but within weeks the new owner, Stan Perron , sold

1035-675: A financial reform program started the previous year to address government spending by public servants, the Australian government appointed Diners Club as the sole provider of credit cards for government travel services. Under the arrangement, Diners Club provided charge cards as travel cards to public servants (e.g. Defence Travel Card). Diners Club was also to supply an updated Expense Management System (EMS), to government agencies without one, or who wanted to upgrade their existing system. The new EMS would provide "timely, accurate and reliable” transactional data feeds for all card expenditure to agency finance or expense systems, allowing them to understand

1150-591: A monopoly. In February 2000, Air New Zealand acquired full ownership of Ansett, buying out News Corporation's stake for A$ 680 million, surpassing Singapore Airlines 's A$ 500 million bid. Competition from Qantas and a succession of low-cost airlines ( Impulse Airlines and Virgin Blue ), top-heavy and substantially overpaid staff, an ageing fleet, and grounding of the Boeing 767 fleet due to maintenance irregularities left Ansett seriously short of cash, losing $ 1.3 million

1265-580: A month back in the air, the Golden Wing Club Lounges reopened, but like the scaled-back flying operation, provided no refreshments or other amenities apart from coffee and water. Ansett was essentially in "lock down" mode, while the administrators tried to source buyers in a very challenging market. Ansett Mark II traded only as "Ansett" in a different font to separate it from the former operation. It traded from Ansett terminals, with Ansett ground staff, crew, and baggage handlers working around

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1380-676: A multimillion-dollar palimony lawsuit against Bloomingdale's estate. Morgan eventually moved into a condominium in the San Fernando Valley where she rented a room to a schizophrenic named Marvin Pancoast, whom she knew from the withdrawal clinic. In July 1983, Pancoast beat her to death with a baseball bat. The courts awarded Morgan $ 200,000 after her death from Bloomingdale's estate. Alfred Bloomingdale died of throat cancer in 1982 in Santa Monica, California , aged 66. He

1495-471: A night at the theater, Bloomingdale launched a credit card business called "Dine and Sign" that meant people on a night out no longer needed to carry large sums of cash. In 1951, he merged his company with Diners Club and joined the rapidly growing business as an executive, becoming chairman of the board of directors in 1964. In 1969, he left Diners Club, acquiring its "International Floatels" division. In 1946, Bloomingdale married Betty Lee "Betsy" Newling ,

1610-516: A pair of Boeing 747-300s from Singapore Airlines in August 1994 to inaugurate services to Osaka and Hong Kong . Two more B747s were leased from Singapore Airlines the next year to enable services to Jakarta in January 1996 and to Shanghai in the summer of 1997. Ansett branded its B747s as 'Spaceships'. In the late 1990s, Ansett paid millions of dollars for the right to be official airline of

1725-524: A period of debt restructuring and by the start of 1994 the company was reported to be back to making an operating profit. By this point all the regional branding had been dropped, with all aircraft carrying the same Ansett scheme, and a new tail logo called the 'Starmark' (combining the Southern Cross of the previous livery, the blue of the flag livery and a stylised 'A' as a nod to Ansett's 1960s scheme) had been introduced. This final change also saw

1840-456: A practicing Roman Catholic , movie starlet and daughter of Dr. Russell Lee Newling (who was a Beverly Hills -based physician born in Adelaide, South Australia ). Alfred and Betsy Bloomingdale had three children: Bloomingdale and his wife Betsy were friends and confidantes of Ronald and Nancy Reagan . In 1981 Reagan, following his election to the U.S. presidency, appointed Bloomingdale to

1955-527: A press conference the same day, Fox and Lew announced that they had received no financial support from the government for their bid, and were therefore withdrawing. With no other saviours, and no realistic chance for Ansett to be revived as a viable concern, the administrators had no choice but to cease all flying operations at 23:59 on 4 March 2002, with the last commercial flight, AN152 from Perth to Sydney , operated by A320-211 VH-HYI, touching down at 06:53 on 5 March. Staff filled Golden Wing Lounges across

2070-440: A salesman at Bloomingdale's but after three years he left to work as a theatrical agent where he represented Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland . He tried his hand at producing Broadway shows and movies but was not very successful. In 1946, he moved to Los Angeles where he worked as an executive at Columbia Pictures . To facilitate the need of his wealthy friends who liked to patronize New York City's upscale restaurants following

2185-426: A statement, managing director of Kazkommertsbank, Nurlan Zhagiparov said, "Our collaboration with Diners Club is another step toward the integration of Kazakhstan into the global economy, which increases the tourism potential in our country." In Korea, Diners Club started its business around the 1980s. However, in 1993, Citibank Korea sold Diners Club Korea to Daewoo Group, and after the acquisition by Daewoo Group,

2300-576: A unit of Citicorp , bought Diners Club International, including the franchisor that holds rights to the Diners Club trademark. Despite this, a majority of the franchises abroad remain independently owned. In April 2008, Discover Financial and Citigroup announced that Discover was purchasing the Diners Club International network from Citigroup for $ 165 million. In May 2008, the Federal Trade Commission approved

2415-562: A view to replacing its successful but ageing fleet of Fokker F27s . Ansett also ordered a total of 11 British Aerospace 146s , which gradually replaced Fokker F28 Fellowship jets from 1990. In addition to these heavy spending costs on fleet renewal, a number of substantial investments performed badly, including a share in the US America West Airlines (which filed for bankruptcy and survived) and its Hamilton Island resort (which went into receivership). In 1984, Ansett

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2530-429: A whole "new" Ansett out of the ashes of the old, but the trademark font and "Star Mark" logo reinstated. It would be a full-service, two-class, single fleet-type domestic airline. It included very reduced staff numbers and an all new Airbus A320 fleet. The new Ansett would operate out of the old Ansett terminals, and temporarily lease the former Ansett's A320 fleet until newer replacements arrived. Loyalty products such as

2645-524: A wide range of regional airliners of piston-, turboprop and jet-power types. Many of these were only operated in small numbers, adding to crew, training and maintenance costs and several key types were approaching 15 or 20 years old. This incurred increased costs to Ansett. In 1985, the same year the Airbus order was placed, Ansett became a launch customer for the Fokker 50 turboprop, ordering ten aircraft with

2760-417: A workout. Later, Diners Club Korea's name was changed to Hyundai Card , and Hyundai Motor Company began issuing Visa and MasterCard credit cards other than Diners Club to start a credit card business in earnest. Hyundai Card continued to maintain the exclusive license of Diners Club, but stopped issuing the card and discontinued the license contract with Diners Club because there was no benefit compared to

2875-635: Is a credit card company established by various Korean banks such as Citibank Korea and Woori Bank . Because it has contracts with almost all stores in Korea, Diners Club cards can be used at almost all stores and restaurants in Korea. In the Nordic countries , the long-time franchisee was SEB Kort AB, a subsidiary of the Swedish bank Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken . SEB Kort closed the service on May 31, 2019, citing increased competition and regulatory pressure in

2990-588: Is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California . In 2017, actress Janis Paige wrote a guest column for The Hollywood Reporter in which she stated that Alfred Bloomingdale had attempted to rape her when she was 22 years old. Ansett Transport Industries Ansett Australia , originally Ansett Airways , was a major Australian airline group based in Melbourne , Victoria . The company operated domestically within Australia, and from

3105-595: The American Express and Diners Club cards, though its small cardmember base hindered its success. In 1981, Citicorp acquired the Diners Club card, and by the mid-1990s the Carte Blanche card was being phased out in favor of Diners Club. Parent company Citigroup was formed in 1998 with the merger of Citicorp and the Travelers Group. Citigroup issued a premium Diners Club card in 2000, naming it

3220-646: The Central Bank of Slovenia revoked Diners Club Slovenia's license for payment services, which meant 80,000 local members could not use their card. Diners Club International transferred the franchise to a subsidiary of Austria's Erste Bank group, Erste Card Club, and agreed to repay the franchise's debt to merchants. An Erste press release in August 2013 stated that Diners Club services were once again available in Slovenia. Diners Club launched its Malaysian and Singaporean franchises in 1960. Its Malaysian franchise

3335-656: The Consolidated PBY Catalina , Short Sandringham and Short Sunderland . At various times the Ansett-ANA helicopter division operated the Bell 47J Ranger , Bell 206 , Bristol Sycamore , Sikorsky S-61 and Sikorsky HH-52 Seaguard . Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services owned the Airbus A300 , Airbus A310 and Boeing 757 for leasing. One of the most unusual aircraft that was operated by Ansett

3450-765: The Diners Club Arena in Rapperswil, Switzerland from 2005 until 2016. In 1963, the film The Man from the Diners' Club was released, and the Ideal Toy Company created the board game titled The Diners' Club Credit Card Game . In 1967, the film How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying was released, incorporating the song Brotherhood of Man including the lyrics, "And other men may carry cards, as members of

3565-459: The High Court of Australia , so it established Trans-Australia Airlines (TAA) to operate in competition with ANA. Ansett Airways remained a big player as ANA and TAA battled for supremacy in the 1940s and 1950s. Ansett operated around the big two, maintaining budget-fare interstate operations with DC-3s and later Convair CV-340s previously operated by Braniff International Airways in

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3680-720: The President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and the following year named him a member of the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. Although born to a Jewish family, Bloomingdale became a Catholic to marry Betsy, and later became a member of the Knights of Malta . The Bloomingdales maintained homes in New York, the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles, and an apartment in

3795-532: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) barred the company (along with American Express ) from issuing new cards for failing to follow norms about storing data within the country. The ban was lifted later in the year after it complied with the RBI guidelines. The Nihon Kōtsū Kōsha (now JTB Corporation ) and Fuji Bank (the direct predecessor of Mizuho Corporate Bank ) founded Diners Club Japan in 1960, and began issuing

3910-486: The Sydney 2000 Olympics , an investment generally regarded as unwise. Ansett saw this tie-in as a key marketing opportunity to expand its presence in southern and eastern Asia. Five Boeing 747-400s were leased (four dry leased from Singapore Airlines and one wet leased from Qantas ) to add further services and new routes to Seoul , Taipei , and Kuala Lumpur . The aircraft were branded with 'Sydney 2000' livery. Neither

4025-778: The Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. In 1970, while in Los Angeles, 54-year-old Alfred Bloomingdale began an affair with 18-year-old Vicki Morgan . For 12 years, Bloomingdale kept her in a luxurious apartment, showering her with expensive clothing, jewelry, and cars. When Alfred was diagnosed with terminal cancer, his wife Betsy cut off Morgan's allowance. Soon after, the affair with Vicki Morgan made headline news as its unsubstantiated and sordid details, which included allegations of sado-masochistic activities instigated by Bloomingdale, were made public after Morgan filed

4140-442: The enRoute credit card from Air Canada in 1992. It marketed the card under the combined name for a period of time as the "Diners Club/enRoute Card". The enRoute business was valued at over $ 300 million at the time of acquisition. In November 2009, Citibank announced that Diners Club International's North American franchise had been sold to Bank of Montreal (BMO). The deal gives BMO exclusive rights to issue Diners cards in

4255-547: The government of New Zealand opened its skies to the airline. After the government of Australia reneged on an agreement to reciprocate, Air New Zealand tried to acquire a share of Qantas when it was floated in 1995, but was not allowed. Instead, it bought TNT's 50% stake in Ansett Australia for A$ 475 million in 1996, though managerial control remained in the hands of News Corporation. Ansett Australia then had to divest itself of Ansett New Zealand to avoid creating

4370-502: The 1980s, buoyed up by strong business year-on-year and the passing of the Airlines Agreement Act of 1981 which maintained the closely regulated domestic airline system in Australia until at least the end of the decade, thus ensuring Ansett Transport Industries' profits for the foreseeable future. New Boeing 737s and five of the newly introduced Boeing 767 were purchased – the latter to a unique specification retaining

4485-507: The 1990s, to destinations in Asia. Following 65 years of operation, the airline went into administration in 2001 following a financial collapse and subsequent liquidation in 2002, subject to a deed of company arrangement. Ansett’s last flight touched down on 5 March 2002. The company was founded by Reginald " Reg" Ansett in 1935 as Ansett Airways Pty Ltd . This was an offshoot of his road transport business, which had become so successful it

4600-695: The ASIC inquiry dropped, but mostly through asset sales and leasing revenue. The Federal Government did provide an A$ 350 million loan which is being repaid by the Administrators at the same time as the staff are being repaid however, to ensure that there is no exposure to taxpayers, a $ 10 per seat levy was imposed by the Federal Government on Australian airline passengers. Employees ended up receiving 96% of their entitlements. Ansett's administrators, KordaMentha , initially advised creditors that it

4715-579: The Airbus A320 was utilised from Ansett's original fleet during the brief re-launch of operations as "Ansett Mark II" from October 2001 to March 2002. The Boeing 737, Boeing 767, and Boeing 747 fleets were grounded from September 2001 onwards as were the BAe 146 fleet, with the exception of a one-off revenue flight from Cairns to Brisbane in November 2001, operating off the back end of a charter flight for

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4830-415: The Ansett group of companies into voluntary administration with PriceWaterhouseCoopers . On 14 September, the administrator determined that Ansett was not viable to continue operations (primarily due to the apparent lack of any funds to cover fuel, catering, or employee wages) and grounded the fleets of Ansett and its subsidiaries Hazelton Airlines , Kendell , Skywest , and Aeropelican . Flights already in

4945-488: The Australian market. On November 21, 2018, it was announced that Diners Club International and Brazilian card association Elo were extending their partnership: they launched Elo Diners Club International Cards in Brazil. The cards run via the Discover Global Network, and are accepted at 42 million merchant locations and 2 million ATMs in over 190 countries and territories. In September 2017, Diners Club International signed

5060-601: The Austrian DC Bank AG, while the Swiss Diners Club cards are issued by Cornèr Banca SA. Diners Club was brought to Turkey by Koç Holding for the first time in 1968 and been issued for a while. After a couple years without being distributed in Turkey, it was brought back to the country in 2016 by Alternatif Bank and as of September 2023, it is still being distributed by Alternatif Bank. Since 2019,

5175-598: The Citibank brand were brought under the National Australia Bank (NAB) brand as a result of the acquisition. On November 1, 2023, Diners Club Australia announced that it was ending personal cards on January 31, 2024 with no transactions possible after that date. Subsequently, it announced that all business and corporate cards were ending on April 15, 2024. All Diners Club accounts will close on September 16, 2024, effectively ending Diners Club's presence in

5290-605: The DCS Ultimate Platinum Card. The card was also the first numberless card issued by Diners Club. A few months after the launch of the DCS Ultimate Platinum Card, a non-numberless Mastercard version was launched. On 8 October 1980, Diners Club entered into an exclusive franchise with Security Bank as exclusive franchisee of Diners Club in the Philippines through Security Diners International Corporation. In 2003, Security Diners International Corporation

5405-681: The Diners Club Carte Blanche card. It was an upper-level charge card on par with the American Express Platinum Card . The Carte Blanche card in North America, now a branded Mastercard issued by BMO under its Diners Club International brand license, carried a US$ 300 annual fee as of April 2015 and offers an extensive menu of perks. Diners Club expanded its customer base in Canada by acquiring

5520-563: The Diners Club cards in Turkey are being issued co-branded with TROY within a card reciprocal agreement , thus the acceptance of Diners Club and Discovery cards throughout Turkey has been increased to full coverage. This agreement also provides TROY cards to be accepted on Discover/Diners Club network worldwide. Diners Club UAE, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan is owned and operated by the Network International subsidiary of Emirates NBD Bank . On August 7, 2012, Citigroup announced

5635-470: The Diners". Alfred S. Bloomingdale Alfred Schiffer Bloomingdale (April 15, 1916 – August 23, 1982) was an American businessman who launched the credit card business Dine and Sign, was chairman of Diners Club , and became known as "father of the credit card." He was an heir to the Bloomingdale's department store fortune and the lover of murdered mistress Vicki Morgan . Bloomingdale

5750-521: The Discover logo on the back and the Diners Club International network is part of the Discover network. Since then, the only connection between Diners Club in North America and Diners Club International is BMO's continuous licensed use of the Diners Club brands, including Carte Blanche, on Mastercard credit cards. Carte Blanche began in 1958 when the Hilton Hotels travel & entertainment card

5865-665: The Discover logo, as well as BMO's Diners Club-branded Mastercards issued in North America. In Argentina, Citibank entered into an agreement to transfer its rights and obligations to Banco Comafi . From December 16, 2013 until August 31, 2021, Banco Comafi S.A. managed the Diners Club credit card business in Argentina. After Banco Comafi closed the Diners Club Argentina business, all existing Diners Club Argentina credit cards were converted into Mastercard credit cards. In July 1974, Ansett Transport Industries purchased

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5980-495: The Golden Wing Club and Global Rewards frequent-flyer program would be relaunched. Those members of Golden Wing Club at the time of the collapse would have their memberships reinstated for a six-month period if they used the new Ansett. A new CEO was sourced and hired, and began to put together a new management team. A new head office was planned, and Airbus showcased a new A320 to the consortium. A new catering company

6095-553: The Kendell Bombardier CRJ200 did not return to active flying. The Fokker 50, Saab 340, Twin Otter and Metro 23 regional aircraft were all back flying for Skywest, Kendell, Hazelton and Aeropelican in the weeks following the collapse. Both Kendell and Hazelton merged to create Regional Express Airlines . As of 2013, five former Kendell Saab 340s are in service with Regional Express with the others phased out. Three of

6210-529: The Mastercard network. As of October 2023, BMO is not accepting new applications for Diners Club cards, as improvements are being made to the application process, while existing card members continue to be served. Initially, cards from other countries continued to bear a 14-digit account number on the front, with the Mastercard logo on the back. However, since the takeover of Diners Club International by Discover Financial Services, international cards have had

6325-599: The New Zealand government. It then declined to take up an earlier proposed deal to inject over $ 500 million into Air New Zealand and Ansett after talks collapsed. In early September 2001, as the trouble worsened, the New Zealand government prepared to rescue Air New Zealand (eventually buying 83% of the company for NZ$ 885 million), but cut Ansett adrift. Despite public pleas, the Australian government refused to bail out Ansett. Quickly running out of both lines of credit and options, Air New Zealand on 12 September 2001 placed

6440-525: The Nordic payment card market, and the card is no longer issued in the Nordic countries. In 2004, Diners Club announced an agreement with Mastercard . Since 2004, all Diners Club cards issued in the United States and Canada (by Citibank until 2009, by BMO since) feature a Mastercard logo and 16-digit account number on the front and can be used wherever Mastercard is accepted. They are processed through

6555-633: The Olympic Games nor the new routes generated the expected traffic, and several of these new routes were withdrawn shortly after the Games concluded. This destabilised the finances of the company considerably, in tandem with other industrial and internal factors (see below) right before the September 11 attacks affected the global airline industry and economy. Ansett had expanded into New Zealand in 1987 through its subsidiary Ansett New Zealand after

6670-575: The Philippines to competitor and Philippines' leading banking conglomerate, BDO Unibank and in October of the same year, Diners Club International announced that they signed a deal with BDO Unibank to become the exclusive provider of the Diners Club in the Philippines. Security Bank at the time offered three tier cards: Blue (Classic), Platinum (named International), and Black (named Premiere). At present, BDO offers Platinum (International), and Black (Premiere) cards. Diners Club Spain  [ es ]

6785-609: The U.S. and Canada. At the time, BMO said the Diners Club fits well with its existing commercial card business, adding that, commercial cards are one of the fastest-growing segments in the credit card business. In 2014, The Warehouse Group acquired the New Zealand Diners Club franchise from its Malaysian owners and subsequently launched The Warehouse Group Financial Services on said basis. The Warehouse Group subsequently closed Diners Club NZ in 2018. In December 2010, Russian Standard Bank and Diners Club International entered into an agreement for settlement of transactions in Russia. Under

6900-444: The United States. The airline was backed up by extensive road transport operations, including Ansett Freight Express and Ansett Pioneer Coaches, as well as the Ansair coach-building operation. The Menzies government , while supporting TAA, because of the excellent dividends it paid to the government, wanted to avoid TAA having a monopoly on domestic services if ANA collapsed, as seemed likely. The only alternative, as it transpired,

7015-618: The administrators began selling off Ansett's assets. This included its regional subsidiary airlines, which still continued to trade despite Ansett being grounded. A creditors meeting post March 2002 voted in favour of an organised wind-up of the operation, under a deed of company arrangement, as opposed to an immediate liquidation. It was viewed that a deed of arrangement would give creditors a greater return than liquidation would provide. Laid-off Ansett workers were eventually paid most of their entitlements, partly from an A$ 150 million compensation package offered by Air New Zealand in return for having

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7130-509: The agreement, Russian Standard Bank will process settlement transactions of other banks acting as acquirers of Discover Financial Services and Diners Club International in Russia. On March 8, 2022, Discover Financial Services and Diners Club International suspended all operations in Russia due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine . In 2013, Tomaž Lovše, who owned Diners Club Slovenia, was one of three people investigated in Slovenia regarding unpaid debts that his franchise owed to merchants. In May,

7245-437: The air at the time the decision was made continued on to their destinations. Customers and almost all employees had no warning of the stoppage in operations. An Ansett Boeing 767–200 operating on behalf of Ansett Airfreight due to depart Melbourne for Launceston, Tasmania, was the first aircraft to be stopped from flying. It was unable to be unloaded until midday the next day, as no paid staff were on duty. Everyone had been told in

7360-526: The air was to attract a buyer for the business and to generate positive cash flow. Attempts by Ansett's Voluntary Administrators to re-engage Singapore Airlines to consider a role in resurrecting Ansett through a meeting on 6 October 2001 resulted in SA agreeing to play a consultancy role in this effort. The revived and scaled-back operation ran on a tight budget, and its service reflected that. It consisted of single-class seating with no catering, interlining baggage, valet parking, or frequent flyer points. After

7475-437: The airline led Ansett to float the business in 1937. As the route network expanded, Ansett Airways imported Lockheed Electra aircraft. During World War II , Ansett opted to suspend all scheduled services, except the Hamilton service, in favour of more lucrative work for the United States Army Air Forces . After the war, Ansett battled to re-establish his domestic routes using war-surplus Douglas DC-3s , converted from C-47s and

7590-401: The airline remaining for sale. In June 2011, it was announced that the Special Employee Entitlements Scheme for Ansett employees had finished making payments to former staff and the administration of Ansett had come to an end. Staff received roughly 96% of their entitlements. The Ansett Australia fleet as of 13 September 2001 (last day of trading) was made up of the following aircraft: Only

7705-444: The airline to Ansett. At this stage the East-West brand was retained, but with an updated livery. Similar deregulation of the airline industry had been introduced in New Zealand in the late 1980s, and Ansett pursued this opportunity to expand its operations internationally. In 1987 Ansett entered into an agreement with the owners of the struggling New Zealand domestic airline Newmans Air which saw Ansett Transport Industries take on

7820-410: The airline. The airline prospered in the 1980s, and its various operating divisions were progressively unified both operationally and in terms of corporate identity. Following the change of ownership, Ansett introduced a new livery designed by Landor Associates , featuring plain white fuselages, simple Ansett logotypes in a serif typeface and a blue tailfin with a stylised Southern Cross logo. Through

7935-445: The banks finally reclaimed them, or as new owners were found. The two Boeing 747s that were leased from Singapore Airlines were reclaimed within weeks of the collapse and returned to Singapore Airlines, which restored the original colours. They subsequently found new lives and were leased to Fiji 's national carrier Fiji Airways , then known as Air Pacific. The more modern Boeing 767–300 , of which Ansett had two, were reclaimed by

8050-446: The clock to make it a success with limited resources. Designated gates at each of Ansett's terminals were used for the operation, while aircraft not being used were moved away to more distant gates, with the disused concourses being sealed off. In November 2001, Ansett creditors voted to allow the Tesna consortium, led by Melbourne businessmen Solomon Lew and Lindsay Fox , to purchase Ansett's mainline assets. The plan involved creating

8165-402: The company's first press agent, started advertising the card in newspapers, magazines, and by sending personal mail to potential customers. Diners Club International was named for being a "club of diners" that would allow patrons to settle their bill at the end of each month through their credit account. When the card was first introduced, Diners Club listed 27 participating restaurants, and 200 of

8280-614: The country for mass wakes as the final flights came in to land. By this point, the administration of the company had transferred to newly formed insolvency firm KordaMentha . The Australian Securities & Investments Commission began an investigation of whether Ansett had traded while insolvent, and eventually determined in July 2002 that it would be too expensive and difficult to proceed with an action which would, in any case, need to be many separate actions on behalf of individual creditors rather than just one. With Ansett now grounded again,

8395-519: The country's first Diners Club cards in spring 1961, shortly before JCB . In 2000, Diners Club Japan was acquired by Citibank Japan, and since 2015, the sole issuer of all Diners Club cards in Japan is Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank , after it acquired Citibank Japan's credit card division that same year. In September 2016, Kazkommertsbank became the official Diners Club card issuer in Kazakhstan. In

8510-897: The days leading up to 14 September that flights would continue on schedule, and most Ansett employees did not find out until they showed up for work at dawn that day. Thousands of passengers were left stranded and more than 16,000 people found themselves out of a job, making this the largest mass job-loss event in Australian history. Widespread protests were held by workers, including the blockade of an Air New Zealand plane about to carry then New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark home from Melbourne. The then Ansett administrators alleged that Air New Zealand had engaged in asset stripping of Ansett, and had sustained excessive fuel costs for Ansett due to Air New Zealand's failure to hedge them, leaving Ansett susceptible to major fluctuations in fuel charges during 2000. These claims were denied by Air New Zealand, noting it had funded Ansett's loss of A$ 180 million in

8625-583: The end of the 1960s, Diners Club faced competition from banks that issued revolving credit cards through Bank of America 's BankAmericard (later changing its name to Visa ), and Interbank Master Charge (renamed to MasterCard ). Starting in 1968, the American Oil Company, or Amoco , also launched its own co-branded Diners Club cards called American Torch Club (later renamed Amoco Torch Club), and Sun Oil Company issued its version called Sun Diners Club Card starting in 1977. In 1981, Citibank ,

8740-566: The first Diners Club franchise was opened in 1963. Nowadays, the Colombian franchisee and issuer of Diners Club cards is Banco Davivienda . Diners Club was the first to introduce credit cards in India. Kali Mody is credited with opening the first Diners franchise in the country in 1961, which started an invitation-only credit card issuance. Its cards have been offered by Citibank India , followed by HDFC Bank which took over in 2011. In 2021,

8855-468: The first time. Ansett had anticipated this change and in July of that year had acquired East-West Airlines , a regional airline that had gradually expanded from its origins in New South Wales to become an inter-state operator. East-West had circumvented the regulations of the Two Airlines Policy by flying between the regulated state capitals via smaller intermediate airports, allowing it both offer

8970-818: The former Hazelton Airlines Saab 340s are in service with Regional Express. At various times Ansett Australia and its predecessors, Ansett Airways and Australian National Airways and partnering carriers operated the Boeing 727 , −100, −200 Advanced and the purpose-built 727 LR, Bristol Freighter , Cessna 550 , Convair 340 , Convair 440 , de Havilland Dragon , de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou , de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter , de Havilland Canada Dash 7 , de Havilland Heron , Douglas DC-3 and C-47 Skytrain , Douglas DC-4 , Douglas DC-5 , Douglas DC-6 , Fokker F-27 , Fokker F-28 , Fokker Universal , Lockheed Model 10 Electra , Lockheed L-188 Electra , LET L-200A Morava , Douglas DC-9 , Mohawk 298 , Piaggio P.166 and Vickers Viscount . Ansett Flying Boat Services operated

9085-449: The founders' friends and acquaintances used it. Diners Club had 20,000 members by the end of 1950 and 42,000 by the end of 1951. At the time, the company was charging participating establishments 7% and billed cardholders $ 5 a year. In 1952, McNamara sold his interest in Diners Club to his partners for $ 200,000. The first plastic Diners Club card was introduced in 1961; by the mid-1960s, Diners Club had 1.3 million cardholders. Towards

9200-411: The government. Two other Ansett BAe 146 aircraft were chartered by the federal government in late 2001 during the federal election campaign. Several of the defunct fleet types did operate ferry flights back to Melbourne from wherever they ended up across Australia in the months after the collapse, and operated the occasional test flight around Melbourne to retain currency. Of the subsidiary fleets, only

9315-685: The initial collapse. With the newer aircraft gone, most of the older Boeing 767–200 fleet were moved from the Melbourne terminal gates as Virgin Blue moved into the former Ansett Terminal, and were placed into long-term storage at the Ansett Engineering Base until late 2004, when most were sold off to Aeroturbine and flown to the United States to be broken up into spare parts. Many of the British Aerospace 146 aircraft were also stored but broken up at Melbourne. As of 2008

9430-614: The introduction of pure jet aircraft to Australian domestic airlines until 1964, when the Boeing 727–100 "Fan Jet" began flying. In keeping with the Two Airlines Policy, both TAA and Ansett started domestic jet services with the 727 on the same date (October 16), at the same time, on the same route (Sydney to Melbourne). However Ansett won a draw to be the first to land, thus becoming the airline to officially inaugurate jet operations to Australian domestic aviation, seven years after Reg Ansett had moved to block TAA's attempt to first purchase jet airliners. An unusual feature of Ansett's operations

9545-488: The last year. Ansett's administrators later admitted no evidence of any asset stripping was found. After receiving a federal government guarantee, Ansett resumed limited services between major cities on 1 October 2001, using only the Airbus A320 Skystar fleet. This was referred to as Ansett Mark II, an operation run and financed by Ansett Australia under administration. The purpose of getting Ansett back into

9660-536: The lessors in the following months, while two new Boeing 767–300 aircraft which arrived too late to enter service with Ansett, departed soon after. One aircraft was wet leased on a short-term basis by Qantas to bring additional aircraft to cover the loss of Ansett, but the aircraft retained its Ansett registration while under lease to it. Another new 767-300, which was halfway through its ferry from Canada, never made it to Australia and returned to Canada. The Kendell CRJ-200 jets returned to Canada within twelve months of

9775-459: The license fee. As a result, Hyundai Card was able to issue American Express cards and signed an exclusive license for American Express Card individual cards in Korea. Since then, Diners Club has signed a license contract with Korean credit card companies BC Card and Woori Card to issue Diners Club cards in Korea. In addition, Diners Club, which previously used Hyundai Card's payment network, began using BC Card's payment network in 2018. BC Card

9890-572: The low-cost carriers and Qantas, which were able to run at a loss on some routes, as they could not maintain revenue while cutting their costs, which included laying off staff. A deal made in April 2001 for Ansett to purchase Virgin Blue was repudiated by Virgin chief Richard Branson in August, and Singapore Airlines, which was initially blocked from buying Ansett, was also prevented from investing further in Air New Zealand/Ansett by

10005-427: The major engineering leap required to go from an all-piston fleet direct to pure jet aircraft, TAA had been operating prop-jet Vickers Viscounts since 1954, so had expertise in jet technology. Ansett was successful in convincing the government to authorise the importation of more Viscounts and the new Lockheed L-188 Electra , marketed as the "Golden Jet" as with other turboprop airliners of the day. This action delayed

10120-419: The mid-1980s this livery was rolled out to the regional parts of the Ansett system which were also rebranded as the new colours were rolled out, becoming Ansett NSW, Ansett NT, Ansett WA etc.. The Southern Cross livery first appeared on newly purchased long-range versions of the Boeing 727–200 , capable of direct flights between Sydney and Perth . Ansett's new owners placed multiple orders for new aircraft in

10235-531: The nature of their travel expenditure, due to the “comprehensive data” that would be provided through the system from travel supplies. Diners Club provided Diners Club Travel Cards to government public servants with a companion Mastercard to increase the number of locations that accepted the card, to reduce cash advance withdrawals of travels allowances. After the Diners Club withdrawal from the Australian market, most government departments have adopted Visa for their card transactions. Diners Club International sponsored

10350-526: The new deregulated industry, Ansett rebranded itself in mid-1990, taking on the name Ansett Australia and adopting a new livery with the Australian flag on the tail. This change also saw the end of the East-West name, being replaced by 'Ansett Express', which was adopted for the short-haul and commuter services in New South Wales formerly operated by Ansett NSW and East-West. This rebranding also followed

10465-400: The older 737 models. This diverse fleet of similar aircraft from different manufacturers was unusual in the airline industry. The new Boeing 767s were also beset by mechanical and maintenance issues, leading them to be out of service during several key periods of heavy traffic and operating for the airline at a loss. These issues were further reflected in Ansett's regional operations which had

10580-562: The parent company of Daewoo Motors , Diners Club Korea ran a successful business with sales of over 400 billion won. Diners Club Korea went through strict card issuance screening and solidified its position as a premium credit card in Korea. The number of Diners Club member stores increased more than tenfold, and the number of members reached hundreds of thousands, and the business was successful. However, Daewoo Group, which had acquired Diners Club, sold Diners Club Korea to Hyundai Motor Company after experiencing financial difficulties and starting

10695-407: The remaining Lockheed Electras. At this time, the Australian domestic airline travel sector was dominated by Australian National Airways (ANA), established in 1936 by a consortium of British-financed Australian shipowners. The Chifley federal government was determined to establish a state-owned airline to operate all domestic and international services. It was eventually thwarted in this aim by

10810-402: The remains of one BAe 146 sit derelict at Brisbane Airport , and another BAe 146 remains at Perth Airport , although neither of them are still owned by Ansett or expected to fly again. A lone Boeing 767–200 survived the scrappers cull, was sold and continues to fly in the United States as a charter aircraft. As of 2006, there were still in excess of 217,000 items and two properties belonging to

10925-610: The sale of its Diners Club franchise in the United Kingdom and Ireland to Affiniture Cards, a private investor group. Mercantil Banco is the sole franchisee of Diners Club in Venezuela since 1968. On January 23, 2018, it was announced that Vietinbank had entered into a partnership with Diners Club International to be the exclusive issuer of Diners Club cards (both standard and contactless) in Vietnam. In 2012 as part of

11040-466: The story differ about whether it was a lunch or dinner at which McNamara forgot his wallet, and whether the bill was paid on loan or McNamara waited for his wife to drive his wallet to him. Some journalists later credited Alfred Bloomingdale with the idea for Diners Club. McNamara and his attorney, Ralph Schneider, founded Diners Club International on February 8, 1950, with $ 1.5 million in initial capital. Alfred Bloomingdale joined briefly, then started

11155-652: The strict rules set down by the Two Airlines Policy, Ansett and TAA operated as virtual carbon copies of each other, operating the same aircraft at the same times, to the same destinations, at fares, which were identical (under strict federal government policy). If either airline wished to change its fares, they had to obtain federal government approval. Reg Ansett then set out to ensure no other competitors could rise up to challenge his airline. He took control of Adelaide -based Guinea Airways (renamed Airlines of South Australia ) and Sydney -based Butler Air Transport (renamed Airlines of New South Wales ). The takeover of Butler

11270-436: The table, and the following day with his lawyer Ralph Schneider and friend Alfred S. Bloomingdale McNamara returned to the same restaurant the following February, in 1950, and paid for his meal using a cardboard charge card and a signature. The story became well known. Diners Club official history refers to this meal as "The First Supper", and is credited by historians as the beginnings of contemporary credit. Various versions of

11385-450: The takeover in November 1968. Unlike Ansett's other regional acquisitions MMA retained its own identity (aircraft flew in Ansett livery but with MMA logotypes) for many years, finally becoming Airlines of Western Australia in 1981. Following the takeover of ANA, Reg Ansett lobbied the government to block TAA's purchase of Sud Aviation Caravelle jet aircraft. He was concerned about his airline's ability to finance equivalent jet aircraft, and

11500-899: The transaction and it was finalized on July 1, 2008. In a transaction completed on July 1, 2008, Discover Financial Services purchased Diners Club International from Citibank for $ 165 million. The deal was announced in April 2008 and approved by the U.S. government in May 2008. By merging the North American Discover Network with the international Diners Club Network, Discover created a global payment processing system. Discover Bank has no plans to issue Diners Club-branded cards, which continue to be issued by Diners Club International licensees. In 2011, Discover started incorporating its logo on Diners Club International cards. Several payment processors, like PayPal , can process only new Diners Club International cards, which include

11615-492: The withdrawal of the Ansett Express branding, with these services now being flown under the corporate Ansett Australia title. The deregulation of the industry also opened up possibilities for Ansett to move into international flights for the first time. On September 11, 1993, the first international Ansett flight was made to Bali using a Boeing 767. To further expand its international operations, Ansett Australia leased

11730-523: Was achieved with covert support from the Menzies government and by Ansett engineering his employees' purchases of Butler shares (in a similar way as had just been attempted by Butler). He then flew the employees to a general meeting in Sydney and forced a vote in favour of selling out to Ansett. Ansett later purchased Perth -based MacRobertson Miller Airlines , buying 70% of the shares in 1963 and completing

11845-573: Was born to a wealthy Jewish family on April 15, 1916, in New York City , the son of Rosalind (née Schiffer) and Hiram Bloomingdale, and the grandson of Lyman G. Bloomingdale , a co-founder of the famous department store Bloomingdale's . Bloomingdale attended Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island , where he was a member of the football team as well as Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Upsilon chapter). After school, he worked as

11960-411: Was called Ansett-ANA, the name it retained until 1 November 1968, when it became Ansett Airlines of Australia. Ansett-ANA's excellent profit record was, at least in part, courtesy of the Menzies government's Two Airlines Policy . The policy effectively blocked any other domestic interstate operators by way of a ban on importation of aircraft without a government licence. From 1957 until the 1980s, under

12075-424: Was embroiled in controversy after it banned HIV -positive individuals from travelling on their planes to protect their staff. The Australian Flight Attendants Association ultimately rejected the bans. In October 1987, the Australian parliament voted to repeal the Airlines Agreement Act with effect from October 31, 1990. This deregulated the airline industry in Australia and exposed Ansett to direct competition for

12190-534: Was for Ansett to buy the ANA operation. Ansett's bid had a number of financial supporters, most prominent of these being the Shell Oil Company . Douglas Aircraft Company was also concerned about ANA's demise, as TAA had ceased to be a customer for their aircraft. The ANA directors fiercely resisted this initially, but in October 1957, succumbed to Ansett's offer of £3.3 million for their airline. The new entity

12305-527: Was founded in 1954 as the first credit card issuer in the country. In 2008, Banco Santander acquired 75% and AirPlus International the remaining 25% of Diners Club Spain. Banco Santander subsequently acquired AirPlus International's remaining stake in 2021. In a transaction that closed on August 6, 2010, Citibank sold the Swiss and German franchises to a private investment group headed by Anthony J. Helbling. The Austrian and German Diners Club cards are issued by

12420-633: Was not cost-effective to restore them to an airworthy state. The disposal of the former fleet did not progress quickly, given the depressed aviation market and the subsequent lack of demand by other carriers around the world whose operations had been crippled by the 9/11 attacks only months before. Following the final flight, nearly all of the A320 fleet was ferried back empty to Melbourne, where they sat at abandoned gates in storage. The Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 fleets ultimately found new owners first, and departed Australia between March 2002 and December 2006 as

12535-579: Was renamed into SB Cards Corporation, as the bank diversified its product offering and entered into an agreement to carry Mastercard, alongside its Diners Club cards. Security Bank renewed its network participation agreement with Diners Club on 9 October 2013 which aimed to provide world class benefits of Diners Club in the Philippines through SBC. Turn of events suddenly changed the course of history in June 2016, Security Bank through its credit card division SB Cards Corporation sold Diners Club's exclusive rights in

12650-430: Was renamed. Hilton sold Carte Blanche to First National City Bank in 1966. Regulatory challenges forced First National City Bank to sell Carte Blanche to Avco in 1968. In 1978, Citicorp (parent company of First National City Bank which was renamed Citibank) reacquired Carte Blanche without regulatory opposition. The 1960s- and 1970s-era Carte Blanche cards were considered more prestigious worldwide than their competition,

12765-435: Was selected, with new Business and Economy Class in-flight meals trialed on passengers on select Mark II services in readiness for the new operation. The agreement with Ansett's administrators, although well-advanced, collapsed in late February 2002. Without any prior warning, the administrators announced on 27 February that Fox and Lew had withdrawn their bid, citing "[i]nability to complete the transaction on legal advice". At

12880-513: Was terminated in 2015. In December 2016, Diners Club International and 2C2P announced in a statement that the latter is a global provider of cards running on Discover Global Network and that it will increase the number of merchants who use the card in the region of South East Asia. In 2023, the Diners Club Singaporean franchise (now renamed to DCS Card Centre ) issued the first UnionPay -co-branded Diners Club card, known as

12995-483: Was the flying-boat service from Rose Bay in Sydney to Lord Howe Island . This was operated by Ansett Flying Boat Services using Short Sandringham four-engined aircraft. The service ceased in 1974 when the Lord Howe Island Airport was completed. Ansett lost control of the company to Peter Abeles ' TNT and Rupert Murdoch 's News Corporation in 1979, with Abeles taking operational control of

13110-478: Was threatening the freight and passenger revenue of Victorian Railways . This led the state government to legislate to put private road transport operators out of business. Reg Ansett countered by establishing an airline, as aviation was under control of the federal government and beyond the reach of the state government. Ansett's first route between Hamilton and Melbourne operated by a Fokker Universal monoplane commenced on 17 February 1936. The rapid success of

13225-645: Was unlikely that much more money would be realised, due to the depression of the global aviation industry after the September 11 attacks in New York City and Washington, DC , had the effect of reducing the value of aircraft from A$ 300 million to A$ 70 million. In the months following the final flight, the administrators negotiated the sale of the terminal leases back to the airport owners, recouping millions. Auctions were held to sell Ansett's airport furniture and equipment. Its headquarters at 465/489 and 501 Swanston Street , Melbourne were sold to PDG Corporation. Some aircraft stored in heavy maintenance were broken up, as it

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