Ontario Express was a regional airline in Canada.

Ontario Express
IATA ICAO Callsign
9X OEL PARTNER
Commenced operationsJuly 15, 1987 (1987-07-15)
Ceased operationsApril 1993 (1993-04)
(merged with Time Air to form Canadian Regional Airlines)
HubsToronto Pearson International Airport
Parent companyCanadian Airlines International
HeadquartersToronto, Ontario, Canada

History edit

Ontario Express first started operations on July 15, 1987 as a regional feeder airline for Canadian Airlines based at the Toronto Pearson International Airport. It began service to Hamilton in March 1989.[1] This was a way to apply the newly designed commercial aviation strategy at the time: use smaller aircraft to gather passengers from various locations and "feed" the main airline which would then carry those passengers worldwide. The term "feeder airline" became a standard in all commercial aviation. The other term employed was a "spoke and wheel" type of organization, the spoke being the centre where all the feeder airlines would fly in the passengers from around the area. Operations started with 4 Jetstream 31 aircraft, manufactured by British Aerospace. ATR 42 aircraft, built by a Franco-Italian consortium Avions de transport régional, were added to the fleet in 1988. Ontario Express was the first airline to import and operate those 2 aircraft in Canada. The first cities that were connected to Toronto were: Windsor, Sault Ste. Marie, Sarnia, London, Kingston, Thunder Bay, Ottawa, and Sudbury.

References edit

  1. ^ DeMont, Philip (1 August 1991). "Ontario Express to leave Hamilton". Toronto Star. p. E2. ProQuest 436470995.

Further reading edit