Time Air - History

History

Time Air (ICAO Code: TAF; IATA Code: KI; Call Sign:Time Air) began with "Stubb" Ross flying the aircraft and picking up passengers from their Lethbridge homes. Time Air quickly filled a void that was left in southern Alberta when Air Canada stopped flying out of Lethbridge in 1967. Over the next 20 years Time Air's fleet progressed from the 20-passenger DHC-6 Twin Otter, to the 30-passenger Shorts 330 and 36-passenger Shorts 360 (both known as the "Flying Boxcar" for their boxy shape) and then tp the Dash 7 before it was standardised on the Dash 8.

The airline acquired a number of other scheduled carriers, most notably Calgary-based Southern Frontier Airlines and Saskatoon-based Norcanair. As a result, Time Air briefly operated other aircraft types, including a number of Convair CV- 580 and Convair CV-640 and both the Fokker F27 Friendship and Fokker F28 Fellowship jet. F28 operations were very successful, leading the airline to acquire a number of additional aircraft, eventually becoming the world's largest operator of the type.

Canadian Airlines International acquired a minority interest in Time Air in the late 1980s and acquired 100% ownership in January 1991. At the same time Canadian Airlines International created a holding company called Canadian Regional Airlines to manage its investments in Time Air and other regional carriers (which included Ontario Express and Inter-Canadien).

In April 1993 Canadian Regional Airlines branded the operations of Time Air and Ontario Express as "Canadian Regional Airlines." The two carriers were legally amalgamated in July 1998, using Time Air's air operator certificate. By then Inter-Canadien had become a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian Regional Airlines, although it continued to operate as a separate brand. Canadian Regional Airlines was merged into Air Canada Jazz in 2001, following Air Canada's acquisition of Canadian Airlines International.