Air Ontario

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Air Ontario
IATA
ICAO
Callsign
GX ONT ONTARIO
Founded1958 (1958)
(as
Parent company
Air Canada
Headquarters
(1977–2001)

Air Ontario Inc. was a Canadian

Air Canada Jazz.[1]

History

London International Airport, London
in the Canadian province of Ontario. (1983)

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

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.

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

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).

Toronto Island Airport
in 1999

As a wholly owned subsidiary of

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 Canada Jazz.[15]

Fleet

Air Ontario DHC8-102 Dash 8

Air Ontario operated the following aircraft:

Air Ontario fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Convair 580
 Un­known 1981 1989 Fleet 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
 33 1986 2002 Aircraft transferred to Air Canada Jazz
de Havilland Canada DHC-8-300 Dash 8
 6 1989 2002 Aircraft transferred to Air Canada Jazz
Fokker F28 Fellowship 2 1988 1989 Registrations 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]

 Ontario

 Quebec

  • Montréal Dorval International Airport

 United States

Destinations in 1992

Air Ontario was operating Air Canada Connector service via a

de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 turboprop aircraft.[27]

 Manitoba

 Ontario

 Quebec

  • Montréal Dorval International Airport

 United States

Destinations in 2000

Air Ontario was operating a hub at the

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]

 Ontario

 Quebec

  • Montréal Dorval International Airport

 United States

Accidents and incidents

  • Douglas C-47A (registered C-FBJE) crashed into Pikangikum Lake on a domestic cargo flight from Red Lake Airport to Pikangikum Airport. Two of the three people on board were killed.[29]
  • On March 10, 1989,
    de-icing was only authorised if both the main engines are stopped. Air Ontario's policies forbid de-icing if one of the engines was running due to the possibility of the fumes being sucked into the air conditioning system and harming those in the cabin. Furthermore, if the pilots had shut down the engines, with no APU and with Dryden airport not having the equipment required to restart the engines, the plane would have been stranded. This situation was exacerbated by an extended wait on the taxiway while priority was given to an incoming Cessna. However, it is possible that de-icing would not have prevented this accident, as the type of fluid commonly used at the time was not intended for long wait times. Additionally, the de-icing process would be completed at the terminal, and not on the runway, reducing the time that the fluid would be effective after application. Recommendations made in the accident report included use of better de-icing fluid, more frequent maintenance of Air Ontario's planes, and de-icing directly on the runway, as well as prioritizing planes that had been de-iced due to the narrow window remaining for take-off. Following the crash, Air Ontario subsequently removed the remaining F28 jet (registration C-FONG) from its fleet later in 1989 and thus became an all Dash 8 turboprop operator at that time.[30]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c 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. ^ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/gx6907.htm
  5. ^ a b https://www.henrytenby.com/great-lakes-airlines-aircraft-photo-history/
  6. ^ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/gx7707.htm
  7. ^ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/gx2/gx7810/gx7810-1.jpg
  8. ^ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/gx2/gx7810/gx7810-2.jpg
  9. ^ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/gx2/gx8102/gx8102-1.jpg
  10. ^ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/gx2/gx8102/gx8102-4.jpg
  11. ^ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/gx2/gx8110/gx8110a.jpg
  12. ^ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/gx2/gx8110/gx8110b.jpg
  13. ^ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/gx2/gx8607/gx8607-1.jpg
  14. ^ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/gx2/gx8607/gx8607-4.jpg
  15. ^ a b "Air Ontario & Its Tragic Pair Of F28 Fellowships". Yesterdays Airlines. 29 January 2015. 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. ^ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/gx8704.htm
  17. ^ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/gx2/gx8905/gx8905a.jpg
  18. ^ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/gx2/gx8905/gx8905i.jpg
  19. ^ a b 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. ^ ic.gc.ca: "Federal Corporation Information - 213782-8"
  21. ^ https://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-Ontario/Fokker-F-28-1000-Fellowship/2450564/L
  22. ^ https://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-Ontario/Fokker-F-28-1000-Fellowship/293773/L
  23. ^ https://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-Ontario/Fokker-F-28-1000-Fellowship/1289060/L
  24. ^ https://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-Ontario/Hawker-Siddeley-HS-748-Srs2A-272/295290/L
  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. ^ https://www.departedflights.com/GX040100.html
  29. ^ "C-FBJE Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
  30. ^ https://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-Ontario/Fokker-F-28-1000-Fellowship/2450564/L

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Air Ontario.
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