Skyservice Airlines

Last updated
Skyservice Airlines
SkyserviceAirline.png
IATA ICAO Call sign
5GSSVSKYFINDER/SKYTOUR
Founded1986
Ceased operationsMarch 31, 2010
Operating bases Toronto Pearson Airport
Montreal Trudeau Airport
Fleet size18
Destinations78
Parent company Gibralt Capital Corporation, Vancouver
Headquarters Toronto, Ontario [1]
Key peopleRob Giguere, President and CEO
Ronald Patmore, former President of Skyservice
Russell Payson, former CEO and President
Website www.skyservice.com (redirects to current Business Aviation site)

Skyservice Airlines Inc. was a charter airline (Skyservice Airlines) based in Etobicoke, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. [2] It employed more than 2,000 people. Skyservice Airlines Inc. flew within Canada and to the United States, Caribbean, Mexico, Venezuela, Israel and Europe. During the summer, Skyservice sold tickets to Europe from Toronto using a Boeing 757-200WL. It also used an Airbus A330-300 for other chartered flights to Europe from Canada. Scheduled services to some destinations were offered during the summer season. Skyservice offered online-booking for those who wished to travel on Skyservice's scheduled destinations in the summer. Skyservice Airlines began operations in 1994. [3]

Contents

Skyservice was forced into receivership on March 31, 2010, as a result of a near $9 million debt to its long-term partner Sunquest Vacations. As a result, Skyservice abruptly ceased operations. Roughly 860 jobs were expected to be lost. [4]

History

Skyservice Airbus A320. Skyservice.a320.750pix.jpg
Skyservice Airbus A320.

The airline was started in 1986. On May 2, 2005, Skyservice introduced the first of two Boeing 767-300 aircraft to its fleet, the first of which entered service on that date with a flight from Toronto to Puerto Vallarta. The aircraft (both formerly with MyTravel Airways) operated summer charters from Toronto to the United Kingdom and Europe for Sunquest Vacations, and in the winter flew from Vancouver to the Caribbean and Mexico. [5] It was one of the few discount airlines operating in Canada which still offered full meal service.

On August 28, 2007, it was announced that Skyservice had sold a majority interest in its airlines business to Vancouver-based private equity company Gibralt Capital Corp. No changes in senior management, operations or staffing levels were planned.

In March 2009, Skyservice partnered with Inflite Media to offer tray table advertising across its fleet of aircraft, the first such advertising network available in Canada.

Skyservice was forced into receivership on March 31, 2010, as a result of an $8.8 million debt to its long-term partner Sunquest Vacations. The last Skyservice flight, from Punta Cana to Winnipeg, took place on the same day. [6]

The private charter portion of the airline continues to operate today under Skyservice Business Aviation [7] with fixed base operations in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Calgary.

In December 2024, Skyservice Business Aviation announced its designation as an Authorized Starlink Dealer. This partnership aims to enhance the availability of Starlink's high-speed and reliable in-flight connectivity solutions for business aircraft owners and operators, broadening access to advanced connectivity technologies in the aviation sector. [8]

Fleet

The Skyservice fleet consisted of the following aircraft on 20 November 2009: [9]

Skyservice fleet
AircraftTotalPassengers
(Class Superiore/Star Class/Economy)		RegistrationsNotes
Airbus A320-200 11180 (0/0/180)C-GTDP, C-GTDH, C-FZAZ, C-FRAAUsed on North/South American flights.
Boeing 757-200 10233 (0/0/233)
197 (0/36/161) C-GMYH		C-GTSJ, C-GTBB, C-GMYH, C-FLOX, C-FFANC-GMYH & C-GTBB were equipped with winglets and used on
North/South American and European flights.
C-FLOX was leased to Arkefly during summer 2009.
Total21
Skyservice B757-200 with winglets in Signature Vacations livery at Regina International Airport SSV752atgate.jpg
Skyservice B757-200 with winglets in Signature Vacations livery at Regina International Airport

Historical fleet

Classes

Awards and recognition

Skyservice was recognized for its exceptional safety record during its 25 years of operation, distinguishable by the highest Platinum rating awarded to Skyservice by the Aviation Research Group/US - North America's most rigid rating for operational safety.

Skyservice Business Aviation

While the airline ceased operations, the business aviation section remains in operation today in Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and Montreal.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawaiian Airlines</span> Airline of the United States

Hawaiian Airlines is a commercial U.S. airline, headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii and a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group. It is the largest operator of commercial flights to and from the island state of Hawaii, and the tenth largest commercial airline in the United States by passengers carried.

Malaysia Airlines is the flag carrier of Malaysia, headquartered at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The airline flies to destinations across Europe, Oceania and Asia from its main hub at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. It was formerly known as Malaysian Airline System.

WestJet Airlines, founded in 1994 and headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, is the second-largest airline in Canada. It began operations in 1996 with 220 employees, three aircraft, and five destinations. It was launched as a low-cost alternative to the country's major airlines. Today, WestJet operates scheduled, charter, and cargo air service, transporting more than 25 million passengers per year. The airline has a significant domestic and international network, which serves over 100 destinations across North America, Caribbean, Europe, Asia, and Central America. WestJet has an average of 777 flights per day, solidifying its position as the eighth-largest airline in North America by frequency.

Condor, legally incorporated as Condor Flugdienst GmbH, is a German airline based in Neu Isenburg, Hesse. It was established in 1955 with Frankfurt Airport as its main base. Condor offers scheduled and charter flights and operates, from Germany, medium-haul flights to the Mediterranean Basin and the Canary Islands as well as long-haul flights to destinations in Africa, Asia, North America, South America and the Caribbean. Whereas medium-haul flights are operated from many German airports and Zurich, long-haul flights usually depart from Frankfurt, with a few charter services operated from Düsseldorf and Munich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wardair</span> Defunct airline of Canada (1952–1989)

Wardair Canada was a privately run Canadian airline, founded by Max Ward in 1952 under the name Wardair Ltd, before formally changing its name to "Wardair Canada" in 1976. The airline was acquired by and merged into Canadian Airlines in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Transat</span> Airline in Canada

Air Transat is a Canadian airline based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1986, it operates scheduled and charter flights serving 60 destinations in 25 countries. Air Transat is owned and operated by Transat A.T. Inc., with 37 aircraft registered with Transport Canada as of September 2023.

CanJet was a Canadian low-cost airline headquartered in Enfield, Nova Scotia and based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport. In addition to initially flying scheduled passenger service, CanJet operated charter flights using its own brand as well as flying contract and ad hoc charters for other tour operators and airlines throughout Canada and the United States. CanJet was wholly owned by IMP Group International and had 572 employees as of March 2007. The airline ceased operations in 2015.

SriLankan Airlines is the flag carrier of Sri Lanka and a member airline of the Oneworld airline alliance. It was launched in 1979 as Air Lanka following the termination of operations of the original Sri Lankan flag carrier Air Ceylon. As of April 2024, it is Sri Lanka's main airline by number of aircraft and destinations. Its hub is Bandaranaike International Airport.

Canada 3000 Airlines Inc. was a Canadian discount charter airline offering domestic and international flights. It was the largest charter airline in the world at the time of its operation, with over 90 destinations worldwide, although it changed to scheduled service in 2000 after the Canadian Airlines and Air Canada merger. Canada 3000 competed with Air Canada, WestJet, and fellow charter airline Air Transat. In November 2001, the airline went out of business after a sharp decline in revenues following the September 11 attacks in the United States. There have been several attempts to restart the airline since then. The airline was headquartered in Etobicoke in the west-end of Toronto, Ontario.

Roots Air was a low-cost airline based in Canada. It started and ceased operations in 2001.

Ryan International Airlines, Inc. was an American FAR 121 airline with domestic, flag, and supplemental authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordan Aviation</span> Jordanian charter airline and lessor

Jordan Aviation (PSC) is an airline based in Amman, Jordan. It operates worldwide charter flights, provides wet lease services to major airlines seeking additional capacity and is also an important provider of air transportation for UN peacekeeping forces. Its main base is Queen Alia International Airport (AMM/OJAI), Amman from where it operates its fleet of Wide Body and Narrow Body aircraft. In addition it has its own MRO which forms part of is Operations & Technical Centre opened in October 2010.

Wamos Air, formerly named Pullmantur Air, is a Spanish charter airline headquartered in Madrid. It mostly operates leisure charter flights from its main base at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport and also operates aircraft for other entities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunwing</span> Ultra low-cost airline of Canada (2005)

Sunwing Airlines Inc. is a Canadian low-cost airline headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. On May 1, 2023, WestJet announced that it had completed the acquisition of Sunwing Airlines.

Air Canada Cargo is the cargo service subsidiary of Air Canada. Air Canada Cargo offers cargo services on domestic and trans-border flights, using the cargo capacity on aircraft operated by Air Canada and Air Canada Jazz on domestic and trans-border routes. Air Canada offers cargo services on its international passenger flights and also uses chartered, all-freighter aircraft for Canada – Europe and Canada – Asia services.

Malaysia Airlines operates a fleet of Airbus A330 and A350 as well as Boeing 737NG and Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Airlines (N8)</span> American freight and charter airline

National Air Cargo Group, Inc., also operating as National Airlines, is a U.S. airline based in Orlando, Florida. It operates on-demand cargo and passenger charter services. It added scheduled passenger service on December 16, 2015, from its hub at Orlando Sanford International Airport, Orlando.

Beijing Capital Airlines, commonly known as Capital Airlines, is a Chinese low-cost airline based at Beijing Daxing International Airport. It is a subsidiary of Hainan Airlines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Canada fleet</span> Aircraft composition of Canadian flag carrier

As of November 2024, the Air Canada fleet consists of 197 mainline passenger aircraft, a mix of Airbus and Boeing narrow-body and wide-body jets.

Philippine Airlines is composed of wide-body and narrow-body aircraft from five families : Airbus A320ceo family, Airbus A321neo, Airbus A330, Airbus A350, and Boeing 777.

References

  1. ↑ Skyservice Corporate Brochure Archived 2008-09-20 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "skyservice.corporatebrochure.pdf." Skyservice. September 20, 2008. Retrieved on September 4, 2012. "SKYSERVICE AIRLINES 31 Fasken Drive, Etobicoke Ontario, Canada M9W 1K6"
  3. ↑ "CNW Group | SKYSERVICE AIRLINES INC. | Gibralt Capital Corporation purchases majority interest in Skyservice Airlines". www.newswire.ca. Archived from the original on 2008-12-30.
  4. ↑ Skyservice forced into receivership Archived April 3, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ Air International, July 2005
  6. ↑ Skyservice forced into receivership Archived 2010-04-03 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ "Skyservice Business Aviation - Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal & Calgary". Skyservice Business Aviation. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
  8. ↑ "Skyservice, Starlink partner to offer BizAv connectivity solutions". Globalair.com. 2024-12-05. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
  9. ↑ Skyservice Fleet - CH Aviation
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.