legal proceedings that inevitably led to the repossession of the leased aircraft and the effective grounding of the airline, with the subsequent direct and indirect loss of thousands of jobs. The government and Compass had been in dispute for many months over the amount paid for the provision of services provided by the governmental authority the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. Although this dispute had been ongoing, the Government chose to act just before the peak 1991 Christmas traveling period. At 21:00 on 20 December 1991, Compass Airlines was grounded. The underlying issues remained unresolved until a final High Court of Australia hearing in 1999. It was argued, had the airline been allowed to continue trading over the Christmas period, the peak travel season in Australia, it would have had more of a chance meeting its disputed financial obligations than being shut down at this point in time. Compass Mark II Compass Mark II was originally conceived as Southern Cross Airlines but chose to trade under the Compass brand, which seemed to have popular support. This may have been a commercial error as many suppliers required Compass Mark II to purchase items and pay up front, rather than lease the same items as would normally be the case. It commenced operations on 31 August 1992 with three McDonnell Douglas MD82 and two McDonnell Douglas MD83 aircraft. It collapsed on 4 March 1993. Two further MD83 aircraft on order were not delivered following the final demise Compass Mark II. 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. Fleet Compass Mark I 4 Airbus A300B4-605R 1 Airbus A310-304 Compass Mark II 3 McDonnell Douglas MD-82 2 McDonnell Douglas MD-83 See also List of defunct airlines of Australia References Airlines established in 1990 Airlines disestablished in 1991 Airlines established in 1992 Airlines disestablished in 1993 Companies formerly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Defunct airlines of Australia 1990 establishments in Australia 1991 disestablishments in Australia 1992 establishments in Australia 1993 disestablishments in Australia