blue livery with a cockatoo on the tail of its aircraft. In April 2001, Impulse and Qantas came to an agreement where Impulse would wet lease all their services to Qantas with Qantas to market the routes and give Impulse a cash injection with a further option for Qantas to buy out the company. Qantas exercised that option in November 2001, and Impulse was absorbed into the QantasLink group of subsidiary airlines. The introduction of the cockatoo livery did not progress beyond a few aircraft. Both the Boeing 717 and Beech 1900 aircraft were initially utilised in the QantasLink fleet however the Beech 1900s were soon withdrawn from service while the Boeing 717 fleet was expanded. In April 2003, following a long running investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the then very well known stockbroking identity Rene Rivkin was found guilty of insider trading after having purchased 50,000 Qantas shares which resulted in a $346,000 profit. He was charged with using confidential and market-sensitive information with regards to an impending merger of Qantas and Impulse Airlines. He bought these shares on behalf of Rivkin Investments on 24 April 2001, just hours after speaking to the executive chairman of Impulse, Gerry McGowan. The airline was a major sponsor of the Newcastle Knights National Rugby League team. Jetstar After QantasLink had acquired the 717 fleet in 2001 it was planned that Qantas would use it as a base for a budget airline to be launched in 2003. Impulse Airline's former 717s were used for Jetstar's initial fleet when the airline officially launched domestic passenger service between Newcastle and Melbourne on 24 May 2004, one day before Impulse Airlines ceased operations. The facilities developed by Impulse Airlines for their Newcastle base continued to be used as a heavy maintenance base for Jetstar until June 2020, despite Jetstar's headquarters being in Melbourne. Fleet See also List of defunct airlines of Australia Aviation in Australia References Regional Airline Directory, Australian Aviation Magazine, December 1994 p88. (ISSN 0813-0876) Regional Airline Directory, Australian Aviation Magazine, December 1997 p66. (ISSN 0813-0876) Regional Airline Directory, Australian Aviation Magazine, 'Annual 2002' p74. (ISSN 1445-9485) Flight International, 5–11 April 2005 Airline Codes Website Jetstar website - 'About Us'. External links Impulse Airlines Former Boeing Fleet Detail Qantas Defunct airlines of Australia Airlines established in 1992 Defunct low-cost airlines Airlines disestablished in 2004 Former Oneworld affiliate members Australian companies disestablished