NorOntair, stylized as norOntair, was a Canadian

regional airline A regional airline is a general classification of airline which typically operates scheduled passenger air service, using regional aircraft, between communities lacking sufficient demand or infrastructure to attract mainline flights. In North ...

operating in

northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Provi ...

from October 18, 1971 to March 29, 1996. It was as a subsidiary of the

Ontario Northland Transportation Commission The Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC), or simply Ontario Northland, is a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario responsible for providing transportation services for passengers and goods in northern Ontario. It reports to ...

(ONTC), a provincial Crown agency of the

Government of Ontario The government of Ontario (french: Gouvernement de l'Ontario) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Ontario. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor� ...

, with the stated goal of creating east-west links across northern Ontario.

History

ONTC's first foray into air services began when it subcontracted flying operations to various airlines including Bradley Air Service (

First Air Bradley Air Services Limited, operating as First Air, was an airline headquartered in Kanata, a suburb of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.Austin Airways Austin Airways was a passenger airline and freight carrier based in Timmins, Ontario, and one of the oldest in Canada. Code Information *ICAO Code: *IATA Code: AAW *Call Sign: History Established as Capreol and Austin Air Services was one of ...

, Air-Dale Ltd and OnAir (taken over by

Bearskin Airlines Bearskin Lake Air Service LP, operating as Bearskin Airlines, is a regional airline based in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. It is a division of Perimeter Aviation and operates services in northern Ontario and Manitoba. Its main base is at Thunde ...

). Air-Dale Ltd. based in Sault Ste Marie was the airline's main operations base. Two de Havilland Dash 8-102 aircraft and six Dash 6-300 Twin Otters were based in Sault Ste Marie. Two additional Twin Otters were based in Thunder Bay and were operated by Bearskin Airlines crews but painted in full NorOntair colours. In its final years, ONTC bought Air-Dale Ltd and operated all the remaining routes until the service was discontinued. In 1996, the newly elected government of Premier

Mike Harris Michael Deane Harris (born January 23, 1945) is a Canadian retired politician who served as the 22nd premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) from 1990 to 2002. During his time ...

moved to close down the airline by removing subsidies. However, this had a negative effect on the region's economy over the next several years. NorOntair was the first airline in the world to order and take delivery of Bombardier's de Havilland Canada Dash 8 Series 100, on October 23, 1984, operated by Air-Dale Ltd. The first Dash 8 in commercial service anywhere in the world wore NorOntair colours and was registered C-GJCB. It was number 6 from the assembly line and remained in active service until the closure of the company flying up to 14 hours a day across Northern Ontario.

Service area

The locations served included: De Havilland Canada DHC-8-102 Dash 8, NorOntair AN1305956

Dash 8 The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, commonly known as the Dash 8, is a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners, introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was later bought by Boeing in 1988, then by Bombardier in 1992; then by ...

service: *

Fort Frances Fort Frances is a town in, and the seat of, Rainy River District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The population as of the 2016 census was 7,739. Fort Frances is a popular fishing destination. It hosts the annual Fort Frances Canadian Bass Cham ...

Kapuskasing Kapuskasing is a town on the Kapuskasing River in the Cochrane District of Northern Ontario, Canada, approximately east of Hearst. The town was known as MacPherson until 1917, when the name was changed so as not to conflict with another railw ...

* North Bay * Sault Ste. Marie * Sudbury *

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

Timmins Timmins ( ) is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada, located on the Mattagami River. The city is the fourth-largest city in the Northeastern Ontario region with a population of 41,145 (2021). The city's economy is based on natural resource ext ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

* Hearst

De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter, NorOntair AN1634008

Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...

service: *

Atikokan Atikokan (, Ojibwe for 'caribou bones') is a town in the Rainy River District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The population was 2,642 as of the 2021 census. The town is one of the main entry points into Quetico Provincial Park and promotes itse ...

* Chapleau * Earlton *

Elliot Lake Elliot Lake is a city in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is north of Lake Huron, midway between the cities of Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie in the Northern Ontario region. Once dubbed the "uranium capital of the world," Elliot Lake has since ...

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

* Gore Bay * Hearst * Hornepayne * Kenora *

Kirkland Lake Kirkland Lake is a town and municipality in Timiskaming District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. The 2016 population, according to Statistics Canada, was 7,981. The community name was based on a nearby lake which in turn was named after Winnifre ...

Pickle Lake Pickle Lake is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the most northerly community in the province that has year-round access by road. Located north of Thunder Bay, highway access is via Highway 599, the only access road to the t ...

* Red Lake *

Sioux Lookout Sioux Lookout is a town in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Located approximately northwest of Thunder Bay, it has a population of 5,272 people (up 4.7% since 2011), an elevation of , and its boundaries cover an area of , of which is lake and wetl ...

Terrace Bay Terrace Bay is a township in Thunder Bay District in northern Ontario, Canada, located on the north shore of Lake Superior east of Thunder Bay along Highway 17. The name originates from a series of lake terraces formed as the water level in L ...

* Wawa

Incidents and accidents

A second Dash 8 joined the fleet shortly after the first and was registered C-GPYD. It was seriously damaged on approach into Sault Ste Marie on February 2, 1986. The aircraft suffered a hard landing during a cockpit crew training flight. This caused the aircraft's landing gear to collapse, causing significant damage to the newly acquired plane. Of particular concern to the airline and to de Havilland Canada at the time was the fact that the crash caused one of the engine's propeller blades to violently break away from the engine housing. The blades penetrated the cabin wall of the aircraft, travelled through Row 2 of the aircraft interior and exited through the other side of the cabin sidewall on the opposite side. Since the aircraft was on a training flight, no passengers were on board. The flight crew escaped the aircraft without injury. The aircraft was removed from service and, after months of structural repairs and refurbishment, was returned to active service.

References

External links

Airtimes Website with NorOntair entry
{{Defunct airlines of Canada Defunct airlines of Canada Airlines established in 1971 Airlines disestablished in 1996 Ontario Northland Transportation Commission Companies based in North Bay, Ontario Canadian companies established in 1971 1971 establishments in Ontario 1996 disestablishments in Ontario Government-owned airlines

History

Service area

Incidents and accidents

See also

References

External links