Quebecair
Encyclopedia
Quebecair was a Canadian airline that operated from 1947 until 1986. Quebecair was headquartered in Saint-Laurent
, Quebec
, now a part of Montreal
.
, the de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
and the Douglas DC-3
. Operations were mainly based in Quebec
and Montreal
was added in 1957. Eventually the latter city became the operating base for Quebecair.
In 1958 a fire in a hangar destroyed three DC-3s and Fokker F27 "Friendship"
were bought to replace the destroyed aircraft. Those proved to be very successful. As operations increased, the company introduced a new, larger aircraft in the form of the Convair CV-540, which were put on the main route between Montreal and Quebec.
During the 1960s, the company took over various other airlines, namely Matane Air Service and Northern Wings in 1965, Fecteau Air Service in 1968, and Royale Air in 1969. The increase in operations brought the introduction of the first jet aircraft, the BAC 1-11
, which were put into use on the Montreal - Toronto
route.
The company took over Air Gaspé
in 1973 and acquired more northern routes. In 1974 it bought two Boeing 707
s for charter work and also Boeing 727
aircraft. It conducted charter flights to destinations in Florida
, the Caribbean
, Europe
and Hawaii
. Charter flights were discontinued in 1979 and the 707s were sold off.
By 1981 the financial conditions in Quebecair were difficult. All aircraft models except for the F27s and BAC 1-11s were sold. This was a difficult time for Quebecair and other airlines. It did not introduce the Boeing 737-200
until 1983. In 1984 Quebecair leased a couple of Douglas DC-8-63
s for charter flights, but those did not last very long.
The next year, 1985, was very difficult, as the industry was restructuring. The financial situation forced the Quebec government (which had owned the airline for a few years) to sell the company to CP Air in July 1986. In continuing consolidation, this was acquired by Canadian Airlines
in 1987.
And in the United States
:
Saint-Laurent, Quebec
Saint-Laurent is a former city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is now the largest in area of the boroughs of the city of Montreal....
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, now a part of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
.
Company history
Quebecair began as Rimouski Airlines in 1947 and flew under that name until it merged with Gulf Aviation in 1953 under the name Quebec-Air. The aircraft in operation at the time were the Beech 18Beechcraft Model 18
The Beechcraft Model 18, or "Twin Beech", as it is better known, is a 6-11 seat, twin-engine, low-wing, conventional-gear aircraft that was manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas...
, the de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, primarily known as a bush plane. It is used for cargo and passenger hauling, aerial application , and has been widely adopted by armed forces as a utility aircraft...
and the Douglas DC-3
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
. Operations were mainly based in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
was added in 1957. Eventually the latter city became the operating base for Quebecair.
In 1958 a fire in a hangar destroyed three DC-3s and Fokker F27 "Friendship"
Fokker F27
The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker.-Design and development:Design of the Fokker F27 started in the 1950s as a replacement to the successful Douglas DC-3 airliner...
were bought to replace the destroyed aircraft. Those proved to be very successful. As operations increased, the company introduced a new, larger aircraft in the form of the Convair CV-540, which were put on the main route between Montreal and Quebec.
During the 1960s, the company took over various other airlines, namely Matane Air Service and Northern Wings in 1965, Fecteau Air Service in 1968, and Royale Air in 1969. The increase in operations brought the introduction of the first jet aircraft, the BAC 1-11
BAC One-Eleven
The British Aircraft Corporation One-Eleven, also known as the BAC-111, BAC-1-11 or BAC 1-11, was a British short-range jet airliner of the 1960s and 1970s...
, which were put into use on the Montreal - Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
route.
The company took over Air Gaspé
Air Gaspé
Air Gaspé was a Canadian airline headquartered in Sept-Îles, Quebec.The airline began charter flights in 1951 and became a subsidiary of Quebecair in 1973. Quebecair operated until 1986...
in 1973 and acquired more northern routes. In 1974 it bought two Boeing 707
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
s for charter work and also Boeing 727
Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
aircraft. It conducted charter flights to destinations in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. Charter flights were discontinued in 1979 and the 707s were sold off.
By 1981 the financial conditions in Quebecair were difficult. All aircraft models except for the F27s and BAC 1-11s were sold. This was a difficult time for Quebecair and other airlines. It did not introduce the Boeing 737-200
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
until 1983. In 1984 Quebecair leased a couple of Douglas DC-8-63
Douglas DC-8
The Douglas DC-8 is a four-engined narrow-body passenger commercial jet airliner, manufactured from 1958 to 1972 by the Douglas Aircraft Company...
s for charter flights, but those did not last very long.
The next year, 1985, was very difficult, as the industry was restructuring. The financial situation forced the Quebec government (which had owned the airline for a few years) to sell the company to CP Air in July 1986. In continuing consolidation, this was acquired by Canadian Airlines
Canadian Airlines
Canadian Airlines International Ltd. was a Canadian airline that operated from 1987 until 2001. The airline was Canada's second largest airline after Air Canada, and carried more than 11.9 million passengers to over 160 destinations in 17 countries on five continents at its height in 1996...
in 1987.
Cities Served
The 1980 route map shows the following destinations being served:- MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
- Quebec CityQuebec CityQuebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
- TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
- Schefferville, QuebecSchefferville, QuebecSchefferville is a town in the Canadian province of Quebec. Schefferville is in the heart of the Naskapi and Innu territory in northern Quebec, less than 2 km from the border with Labrador on the north shore of Knob Lake. The town has an incorporated area of . It is located within the...
- Wabush, Newfoundland and LabradorWabush, Newfoundland and LabradorWabush is a small town in the western tip of Labrador, known for transportation and iron ore operations for over three decades ....
- Sept-Îles, QuebecSept-Îles, QuebecFor the islands in north of Brittany, see JentilezSept-Îles is a city in the Côte-Nord region of eastern Quebec, Canada. It is the northernmost town in Quebec with any significant population...
- Havre-Saint-Pierre, QuebecHavre-Saint-Pierre, QuebecHavre-Saint-Pierre is a town situated on Pointe-aux-Esquimaux, which is on the Quebec north shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Canada...
- Baie-Johan-Beetz, QuebecBaie-Johan-Beetz, QuebecBaie-Johan-Beetz is a municipality and village in the Côte-Nord region of the province of Quebec in Canada, located some east of Havre-Saint-Pierre. It has the lowest population of all incorporated places in the Côte-Nord region.-History:...
- Natashquan, QuebecNatashquan, Quebec (municipality)Natashquan is a township municipality and village in Minganie Regional County Municipality, Côte-Nord region, Quebec, Canada. It should not be confused with the adjacent but separate Innu reserve of Natashquan....
- Kegaska, Quebec
- Chevery AirportChevery AirportChevery Airport is located on the north-eastern shore of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Quebec, Canada in the town of Chevery. It is uncontrolled but has an automated weather observation system .-Airlines and destinations: -External links:...
- Harrington Harbour, Quebec
- Tête-à-La-Baleine AirportTête-à-La-Baleine AirportTête-à-la-Baleine Airport, , is located southwest of Tête-à-la-Baleine, Quebec, Canada.-Airlines and destinations: -References:...
- Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, QuebecSaint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, QuebecSaint-Augustin-de-Desmaures is a city in central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint Lawrence River, adjacent to Quebec City.The town was founded in 1691 by three families...
- Blanc-Sablon, QuebecBlanc-Sablon, QuebecBlanc-Sablon, Quebec is the easternmost community in the province of Quebec, Canada, between the municipalities of Côte-Nord-du-Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent and L'Anse-au-Clair, in Labrador...
- Port-Menier, QuebecPort-Menier, QuebecPort-Menier, Quebec is a small fishing town located on the western end of Anticosti Island, Quebec, Canada, part of the L'Île-d'Anticosti municipality. The port village was built during the late 19th century by French chocolate maker Henri Menier....
- Magdalen IslandsMagdalen IslandsThe Magdalen Islands form a small archipelago in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with a land area of . Though closer to Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, the islands form part of the Canadian province of Quebec....
- Bonaventure, QuebecBonaventure, QuebecBonaventure is a town on the Gaspé Peninsula in the Bonaventure Regional County Municipality of Quebec. It is located on Baie des Chaleurs near the mouth of the Bonaventure River...
- Gaspé, QuebecGaspé, QuebecGaspé is a city at the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula in the Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine region of eastern Quebec, Canada. As of the 2006 census, the city had a total population of 14,819....
- Rimouski
- Baie-Comeau
- Saguenay, QuebecSaguenay, QuebecSaguenay is a city in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada, on the Saguenay River, about north of Quebec City....
- Rouyn-Noranda
- Val-d'Or
And in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
:
- BostonBostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
- New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Fleet
- Beech 18Beechcraft Model 18The Beechcraft Model 18, or "Twin Beech", as it is better known, is a 6-11 seat, twin-engine, low-wing, conventional-gear aircraft that was manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas...
- de Havilland Canada DHC-2 BeaverDe Havilland Canada DHC-2 BeaverThe de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, primarily known as a bush plane. It is used for cargo and passenger hauling, aerial application , and has been widely adopted by armed forces as a utility aircraft...
- Douglas DC-3Douglas DC-3The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
- Fokker F27 "Friendship"Fokker F27The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker.-Design and development:Design of the Fokker F27 started in the 1950s as a replacement to the successful Douglas DC-3 airliner...
- Convair CV-540
- BAC 1-11BAC One-ElevenThe British Aircraft Corporation One-Eleven, also known as the BAC-111, BAC-1-11 or BAC 1-11, was a British short-range jet airliner of the 1960s and 1970s...
- Fokker F28 "Fellowship"Fokker F28The Fokker F28 Fellowship is a short range jet airliner designed and built by defunct Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker.-Design and development:...
- Hawker Siddeley HS 748
- Boeing 707-123Boeing 707The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
- Boeing 727-025Boeing 727The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
- Boeing 737-200Boeing 737The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
- Douglas DC-8-63Douglas DC-8The Douglas DC-8 is a four-engined narrow-body passenger commercial jet airliner, manufactured from 1958 to 1972 by the Douglas Aircraft Company...
Accidents and incidents
- Quebecair flight 714, a Boeing 707-123B C-GQBH operating a flight from Toronto, caught a wind shear while on approach to Hewanorra international airport in St. Lucia on 19 February 1979. The windshear caused the aircraft to halt its descent while already over the threshold. The copilot who was flying at that time retarded the throttles, however at that very moment the aircraft had passed the windshear zone and the nose of the aircraft slammed into the runway and bounced twice, destroying the nose landing gear. There were no fatalities and minor injuries in this incident. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and was written off.
- On March 29, 1979, Quebecair Flight 255Quebecair Flight 255Quebecair Flight 255 was a scheduled flight from Quebec City to Montreal. On March 29, 1979, a Fairchild F-27 registered CF-QBL flying the route crashed after an engine exploded shortly after take off, killing all three crew and 14 out of 21 passengers...
, a Fairchild F-27 (tail numberTail numberA tail number refers to an identification number painted on an aircraft, frequently on the tail.Tail numbers can represent:* An aircraft registration number * United States military aircraft serials-See also:...
: CF-QBL) flying from Quebec CityQuebec CityQuebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
to MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
crashed after an engine exploded shortly after take off, killing all three crew and 17 out of 21 passengers.