Air Ontario

Last updated
Air Ontario
Air Ontario Logo, January 2000.svg
IATA ICAO Call sign
GXONTONTARIO
Founded1958 (1958)
(as Great Lakes Airlines)
Commenced operations
  • 1983 (1983)
    (as Air Ontario Ltd.)
  • 1987 (1987)
    (as Air Ontario Inc.)
Ceased operationsNovember 1, 2001 (2001-11-01)
(merged with Air BC, Air Nova and Canadian Regional Airlines to form Air Canada Jazz)
Hubs Toronto Pearson International Airport
Frequent-flyer program Aeroplan
Alliance Star Alliance (affiliate; 1997–2001)
Parent company Air Canada
Headquarters

Air Ontario Inc. was a Canadian regional airline with its predecessor (Great Lakes Airlines) initially headquartered in Sarnia and later in London, Ontario. [1] [2] In 2002, Air Ontario became Air Canada Jazz. [1]

Contents

History

An Air Ontario Convair 580 at London International Airport, London in the Canadian province of Ontario. (1983) Air Ontario Convair 580 new livery.jpg
An Air Ontario Convair 580 at London International Airport, London in the Canadian province of Ontario. (1983)

Great Lakes Airlines, the predecessor of Air Ontario, was formed in 1958 and based in Sarnia, becoming Air Ontario Ltd. in 1983 and Air Ontario Inc. in June 1987. [3] [1] In 1969, Great Lakes was only operating between Sarnia and Toronto as an independent air carrier with just two roundtrip nonstop flights primarily flown on weekdays with Douglas DC-3 aircraft. [4] Also in 1969, the airline began acquiring Convair 440 piston powered airliners configured with 44 passenger seats in order to replace the DC-3 aircraft and also to expand scheduled passenger service to other destinations in Ontario province such as London, Ottawa, Kitchener and Peterborough. [5]

However, by 1975 Great Lakes was in financial trouble which resulted in the Sarnia - Toronto route being the only scheduled passenger service operated at this time and also led to the airline being purchased by a partnership consisting of a group of Toronto businessmen including James Plaxton, who brought in new capital from the DeLuce family when he merged Great Lakes with their Austin Airways operation. In 1977, the airline moved its headquarters from Sarnia to London, Ontario and also purchased Flightexec Ltd. which was based in London and operated executive charters with Piper Aztec twin prop business aircraft with Great Lakes continuing to operate Flightexec as a separate air carrier. [5] During the late 1970s, the airline had once again expanded and was serving five cities in Ontario province including Toronto, Ottawa, London, ON, Peterborough, ON and Sarnia with up to ten roundtrip nonstop flights being operated every weekday on the core Toronto - London route in 1977. [6] [7] [8] By early 1981, Great Lakes was still operating as an independent air carrier with service to four cities in Ontario province including Toronto, Ottawa, London and Sarnia with all flights being operated at this time with Convair 580 turboprops configured with 55 passenger seats. [9] [10]

By the fall of 1981, the airline had changed its name and was operating as Air Ontario which in turn continued to serve Toronto, Ottawa, London, ON and Sarnia as an independent air carrier operating Convair 580 turboprops. [11] [12] In the summer of 1986 Air Ontario was serving eleven destinations in Canada as an independent regional air carrier including Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Windsor, ON, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Sudbury, ON, North Bay, ON, London, ON and Sarnia plus two destinations in the U.S., being Cleveland and Hartford with the airline also ordering new de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 turboprops at this time. [13] [14] Also in 1986, Air Canada and Pacific Western Airlines equally split 49% of the shares of Air Ontario. In 1987, Air Canada and Austin Airways split the Air Ontario shares in a 3:1 ratio upon its Canadian incorporation. [15] Both Air Ontario and Austin Airways were operating Air Canada Connector (now known as Jazz Aviation) services on behalf of Air Canada in 1987 with Air Ontario flying Convair 580 and new Dash 8 turboprops at this time. [16]

By the late 1980s, Air Ontario was operating Fokker F28 Fellowship jets as well as Dash 8 turboprops on Air Canada Connector services. [17] [18] According to the Official Airline Guide (OAG), one of the first F28 jet routes operated by Air Ontario on behalf of Air Canada was nonstop service between Toronto and Sault Ste. Marie, ON with four roundtrip F28 flights being operated every weekday in December 1988. [19] Also according to this same Dec. 1, 1988 OAG, these nonstop Air Ontario F28 flights between Toronto and Sault Ste. Marie had replaced Air Canada's mainline jet service on the route with Air Ontario competing at this time with Canadian Airlines International mainline Boeing 737-200 nonstop jet service between the two cities. By early 1989, the airline was also operating Air Canada Connector service with an F28 jet on a roundtrip routing of Thunder Bay - Dryden - Winnipeg with this flight being involved in fatal accident on take-off from Dryden in March of that year (see Accidents and incidents section below).

Air Ontario C-FGRM DHC-8-100 at Toronto Island Airport in 1999 Air Ontario C-FGRM.jpg
Air Ontario C-FGRM DHC-8-100 at Toronto Island Airport in 1999

As a wholly owned subsidiary of Air Canada, Air Ontario's operation as an Air Canada Connector code sharing partner increased substantially in the intra-Ontario marketplace following Air Canada's decision in February 1990, to discontinue mainline jet service to North Bay, Sudbury, Timmins and Windsor. Route expansion from Toronto Island Airport (now known as Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport) nonstop to both Montreal and Ottawa as well as nonstop to Newark, NJ in the U.S. soon followed, along with the addition of other new routes into the United States from Toronto Pearson International Airport.

In December 2000, Air Ontario was amalgamated into Air Canada. [20]

In January 2001, a newly merged carrier called Air Canada Regional Inc. was established. A wholly owned subsidiary of Air Canada, this company combined the individual strengths of four regional airlines— Air BC, Air Nova, Air Ontario, and Canadian Regional Airlines. Consolidation of these four companies was completed in 2002 and was marked by the launch of a new name and brand— Air Canada Jazz . [15]

Fleet

Air Ontario DHC8-102 Dash 8 De Havilland Canada DHC-8-102 Dash 8, Air Ontario AN0091364.jpg
Air Ontario DHC8-102 Dash 8

Air Ontario operated the following aircraft:

Air Ontario fleet
AircraftTotalIntroducedRetiredNotes
Convair 580 {{{10}}}19811989Fleet included aircraft formerly operated by Great Lakes Airlines. Replaced with Fokker F28 Fellowship and new de Havilland DHC-8 Dash 8 aircraft.
de Havilland Canada DHC-8-100 Dash 8 3319862002Aircraft transferred to Air Canada Jazz
de Havilland Canada DHC-8-300 Dash 8 619892002Aircraft transferred to Air Canada Jazz
Fokker F28 Fellowship 219881989Registrations C-FONF & C-FONG

The airline leased two Fokker F28 Fellowship series 1000 jets from Transport Aeriens Transregional (TAT), a French air carrier now known as TAT European Airlines, in 1988. [21] [22] [23]

Air Ontario was also operating a Hawker Siddeley HS 748 turboprop aircraft in 1988. [24]

Destinations

Destinations in 1984

Air Ontario was operating a small fleet of Convair 580 turboprops (later replaced with Fokker F28 Fellowship jets beginning in late 1988 [19] and also with new Dash 8 turboprops) as an independent air carrier in 1984 with scheduled passenger service to the following destinations in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec as well as to two destinations in the United States: [25]

Flag of Ontario.svg  Ontario

Flag of Quebec.svg  Quebec

Flag of the United States.svg  United States

Destinations in 1992

Air Ontario was operating Air Canada Connector service via a code sharing agreement with Air Canada to the following destinations in Canada and the United States in 1992; [26] by 1995, Air Ontario had added nonstop Air Canada Connector service between Toronto and Baltimore and was operating all flights system-wide with de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 turboprop aircraft. [27]

Flag of Manitoba.svg  Manitoba

Flag of Ontario.svg  Ontario

Flag of Quebec.svg  Quebec

Flag of the United States.svg  United States

Destinations in 2000

Air Ontario was operating a hub at the Toronto Pearson International Airport in the spring of 2000 as an Air Canada Connector code sharing air carrier on behalf of its owner Air Canada and had greatly expanded its transborder services to the United States. The following cities in Canada and the U.S. were being served at this time primarily via nonstop service to and from Toronto with all flights being operated with Dash 8 turboprops. [28]

Flag of Ontario.svg  Ontario

Flag of Quebec.svg  Quebec

Flag of the United States.svg  United States

Accidents and incidents

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Carruthers, Dale (26 December 2013). "Industry insiders say sky's the limit for local commercial flying interests". IFpress. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  2. ↑ "Contact." Air Ontario. Retrieved on May 21, 2009. "Head Office: Air Ontario Inc. 1000 Air Ontario Drive London, Ontario Canada N5V 3S4"
  3. ↑ "Air Ontario Fleet Details and History". Planespotters. 27 April 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  4. ↑ "Great Lakes Airlines". www.timetableimages.com. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
  5. 1 2 "Great Lakes Airlines - Aircraft Photo History | Henry Tenby - Aviation Fan - Worldwide Operations" . Retrieved 2024-05-08.
  6. ↑ "Great Laes Airlines (Canada)".
  7. ↑ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/gx2/gx7810/gx7810-1.jpg [ bare URL image file ]
  8. ↑ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/gx2/gx7810/gx7810-2.jpg [ bare URL image file ]
  9. ↑ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/gx2/gx8102/gx8102-1.jpg [ bare URL image file ]
  10. ↑ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/gx2/gx8102/gx8102-4.jpg [ bare URL image file ]
  11. ↑ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/gx2/gx8110/gx8110a.jpg [ bare URL image file ]
  12. ↑ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/gx2/gx8110/gx8110b.jpg [ bare URL image file ]
  13. ↑ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/gx2/gx8607/gx8607-1.jpg [ bare URL image file ]
  14. ↑ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/gx2/gx8607/gx8607-4.jpg [ bare URL image file ]
  15. 1 2 "Air Ontario & Its Tragic Pair Of F28 Fellowships". Yesterdays Airlines. 29 January 2015. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2016. By 1975 the airline was in trouble and was purchased by a partnership including Mr James Plaxton who would later become the 100% owner.
  16. ↑ "Air Ontario - Austin Airways".
  17. ↑ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/gx2/gx8905/gx8905a.jpg [ bare URL image file ]
  18. ↑ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/gx2/gx8905/gx8905i.jpg [ bare URL image file ]
  19. 1 2 Dec. 1, 1988 OAG Pocket Flight Guide, North American Edition, Air Canada Connector F28 service operated by Air Ontario, Toronto (YYZ)-Sault Ste. Marie (YAM) flight schedules
  20. ↑ "Federal Corporation Information - 213782-8 - Online Filing Centre - Corporations Canada - Corporations - Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada".
  21. 1 2 "Aviation Photo #2450564: Fokker F-28-1000 Fellowship - Air Ontario".
  22. ↑ "Aviation Photo #0293773: Fokker F-28-1000 Fellowship - Air Ontario".
  23. ↑ "Aviation Photo #1289060: Fokker F-28-1000 Fellowship - Air Ontario".
  24. ↑ "Aviation Photo #0295290: Hawker Siddeley HS-748 Srs2A/272 - Air Ontario".
  25. ↑ http://www.departedflights.com, Sept 1, 1984 Air Ontario route map
  26. ↑ http://www.departedflights.com, May 3, 1992 Air Ontario route map
  27. ↑ http://www.departedflights.com, April 2, 1995 Official Airline Guide OAG), Toronto and Montreal flight schedules
  28. ↑ "Air Ontario April 1, 2000 Route Map".
  29. ↑ "C-FBJE Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
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