Steve Padgett

• Founder and Managing Director: Flight Options (Australia) Pty Ltd, Sunshine Coast Jet Centre and SJP Aviation Pty Ltd
• Co-Founder and Former Chairman: Alliance Aviation Services, formerly Alliance Airlines
• Co-Founder and Life Member: Regional Aviation Association of Australia (RAAA)

Steve Padgett has been in aviation since 1964.  Steve learned to fly at age 16, winning a Royal Australian Airforce (RAAF) Flying Scholarship through the Air Training Corps (ATC), earning commissioned rank, Commercial Pilot’s Licence and Instructor Rating aged just 19.

Whilst remaining in the RAAF Reserve Forces as an Instructor to the ATC, Steve started a career in aircraft sales and marketing with Hawker de Havilland and launched his own business in 1978, going on to form Aeromil Australia (later Aeromil Pacific) in 1980. Steve represented major aircraft manufacturers Beechcraft, Learjet, Embraer and Cessna and was successful in achieving a number of international sales awards. Steve has over 3,000 hours flying experience and has flown numerous types of aircraft from gyroplanes to business jets. 

Steve has been instrumental in developing new aviation markets and business in the Asia Pacific region. He facilitated the start-up of several airlines in Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Fiji, the South Pacific and Asia, including Sunshine Express Airlines and Alliance Airlines.

During the 1990s, Steve and partners acquired Austin Aero, Austin Texas, providing fuel and support services to major airlines and business and private aviation. As President of the company, the position afforded him considerable experience associated with corporate and commercial aviation in the USA. 

In 1995, Steve moved his aviation interests in Australia from Bankstown Airport, Sydney to a greenfield site on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast Airport in order to develop Aeromil and other opportunities.  Touted by the industry as a bold move, this initiative ultimately resulted in the purchase and construction of multiple hangars and facilities, the formation of regional airline, Sunshine Express Airlines in 1998, and in 2002, the establishment of the Singapore Flying College Advanced Jet Training facility for Singapore Airlines including two state of the art full motion flight simulators, four jet training aircraft and maintenance support services. 

In 2002, another significant career milestone was achieved, Steve Padgett co-founded Alliance Airlines, acquiring the assets of Flight West Airlines which was in administration at the time. From two Fokker airline jets and 75 employees at inception, Alliance has grown into the pre-emanate Fly In Fly Out (FIFO) operator in Australia and, supplier of charter services to all major Australian airlines. The airline is a successful public company with employees and bases all over the country.