| |||||||
Founded | 1934 | as Capreol and Austin Air Services||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ceased operations | June 1987 [lower-alpha 1] | ||||||
Fleet size | See Aircraft used below | ||||||
Destinations | See Destinations below | ||||||
Headquarters | Timmins, Ontario, Canada |
Austin Airways was a passenger airline and freight carrier based in Timmins, Ontario, and one of the oldest in Canada.
Established as Capreol and Austin Air Services was one of Canada's oldest airlines, starting operations in 1934. The home base was Timmins and it operated many duties in addition to passenger and freight services. Over the years, scheduled services served over 40 cities, including one destination in the United States. In 1973 it merged with White River Air Services but continued to operate as Austin Airways.
In June 1987 it merged with Air Ontario Ltd (formerly Great Lakes Airlines, formed in 1958) to form Air Ontario Inc. In turn Air Ontario became part of Air Canada Jazz in 2001. [1]
The April 26, 1987 Air Ontario/Austin Airways joint system timetable listed Air Canada Connector code share flights operated by both airlines on behalf of Air Canada with Austin Airways operating 14-passenger Beechcraft 99, 7-passenger Cessna 402, 19-passenger de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, 37-passenger de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 and 40 to 43-passenger Hawker Siddeley HS 748 aircraft at this time. [2] The HS 748 turboprop was the largest aircraft operated by Austin Airways.
Over its long history, Austin Airways operated the following aircraft:
The following destinations were served by Austin Airways during its existence. Most of the destinations served by the airline were isolated and remote airports in northern Ontario and Quebec provinces as well as in the Northwest Territories (NWT) (now Nunavut) in Canada in addition to several larger airports across Ontario. Minneapolis/St. Paul in the U.S. was the only non-Canadian destination served by the airline during its existence.
Formerly part of the Northwest Territories
Continental Express was the operating brand name used by a number of independently owned regional airlines providing commuter airliner and regional jet feeder service under agreement with Continental Airlines. In 2012 at the time of Continental's merger with United Airlines, two carriers were operating using the Continental Express brand name:
Canadian Pacific Air Lines was a Canadian airline that operated from 1942 to 1987. It operated under the name CP Air from 1968 to 1986. Headquartered at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, it served domestic Canadian as well as international routes until it was purchased by Pacific Western Airlines and absorbed into Canadian Airlines International.
Bradley Air Services Limited, operating as First Air, was an airline headquartered in Kanata, a suburb of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It operated services to 34 communities in Nunavut, Nunavik, and the Northwest Territories. First Air has assisted in various humanitarian missions such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, airlifting relief supplies and equipment. Its main base, which included a large hangar, cargo and maintenance facility, was located at Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport, with hubs at Iqaluit Airport, and Yellowknife Airport. On November 1, 2019, the airline consolidated operations with Canadian North.
The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada in the mid-1960s and still in production today. De Havilland Canada produced it from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted production in 2008 before re-adopting the DHC name in 2022. In 2023 DHC restarted production of the 300 series, in addition to the Series 400 produced by Viking. The aircraft's fixed tricycle undercarriage, STOL capabilities, twin turboprop engines and high rate of climb have made it a successful commuter airliner, typically seating 18–20 passengers, as well as a cargo and medical evacuation aircraft. In addition, the Twin Otter has been popular with commercial skydiving operations, and is used by the United States Army Parachute Team and the 98th Flying Training Squadron of the United States Air Force.
PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines, operating as Merpati Nusantara Airlines, was an airline in Indonesia based in Central Jakarta, Jakarta. It operated scheduled domestic services to more than 25 destinations in Indonesia, as well as scheduled international services to East Timor and Malaysia. The word merpati is Indonesian for "dove", and Nusantara is a Javanese word found in the Pararaton meaning "the outer islands", referring to the Indonesian archipelago. The airline was based at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta. It also maintained both a maintenance and simulator facility at Juanda International Airport, Surabaya. The Merpati Training Centre at Surabaya housed Fokker F-27, AVIC MA60 and CN-235 full motion simulators.
Eastern Provincial Airways (EPA) was an airline that operated in Atlantic and eastern Canada. At its peak, the carrier operated jet service with Boeing 737-200 aircraft connecting many communities that today only have scheduled passenger flights provided by 18-seat commuter turboprop aircraft. The airline traces its history from Maritime Central Airways (MCA) from 1961. It merged with CP Air to form Canadian Pacific Air Lines in 1986.
Nordair was a Quebec-based airline in Canada founded in 1947 from the merger of Boreal Airways and Mont Laurier Aviation.
Kenn Borek Air is an airline based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It operates regional passenger and cargo services, contract operations in the Arctic and Antarctic and aircraft leasing. Its main base is at Calgary International Airport. It charters aircraft for scientific expeditions, oil exploration, etc., and operates air ambulance services.
The de Havilland Canada DHC-7, popularly known as the Dash 7, is a turboprop-powered regional airliner with short take-off and landing (STOL) performance. Variants were built with 50–54 seats. It first flew in 1975 and remained in production until 1988 when the parent company, de Havilland Canada, was purchased by Boeing in 1986 and later sold to Bombardier. In 2006 Bombardier sold the type certificate for the aircraft design to Victoria-based manufacturer Viking Air.
Air Ontario Inc. was a Canadian regional airline with its predecessor initially headquartered in Sarnia and later in London, Ontario. In 2002, Air Ontario became Air Canada Jazz.
Time Air was an airline in Canada founded in 1966 by businessman Walter “Stubb” Ross from Lethbridge in Alberta. It was called Lethbridge Air Service before becoming Time Airways Ltd. in 1969, which was later shortened to Time Air Ltd. In 1993 it was merged with Ontario Express to create Canadian Regional Airlines.
Great Lakes Airlines was a regional airline in Canada. It was formed in 1958 in Sarnia, Ontario by John Blunt and by 1983 became Air Ontario Ltd. In June 1987 Air Ontario Ltd. merged with Austin Airways to form Air Ontario Inc. which in turn subsequently operated Air Canada Connector code sharing passenger flights on behalf of Air Canada with Convair 580 and de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 series 100 and 300 turboprops. Air Ontario also operated Fokker F28 Fellowship jets at one point.
Timmins Victor M. Power Airport is located 6 nautical miles north-northwest of Timmins, Ontario, Canada. The airport serves both scheduled passenger and cargo flights and general aviation, including air ambulance (MEDEVAC), forest-fire fighting, and flight training.
Grand Canyon National Park Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located in Tusayan, CDP in unincorporated Coconino County, Arizona, United States. It is near Grand Canyon National Park, 1 mile from the South Rim entrance of the Grand Canyon. The airport is primarily used for scenic tours and charter flights.
Quebecair was a Canadian airline that operated from 1947 until 1986. Quebecair was headquartered in Saint-Laurent, Quebec, now a part of Montreal.
Norcanair was the name of a Canadian airline that existed from 1947 to 1987, and again briefly in the early 1990s and from 2001 to 2005.
Sachigo Lake Airport is located 1.5 nautical miles north of the First Nations community of Sachigo Lake, Ontario, Canada.
Transair was an airline based in Canada. It was purchased by Pacific Western Airlines in 1979. Transair's operational headquarters was located at the Winnipeg International Airport in Manitoba.
Ontario Central Airlines was a Canadian airline headquartered in Kenora, Ontario. It was founded in 1947 and served the Kenora District. It operated a wide range of aircraft, ranging from outdated passenger planes like the Douglas DC-3 to small bush planes like the Noorduyn Norseman.