(1) is renamed in January 1989. Simultaneously, the first 2 of 12 ordered Fokker 100s arrive, followed by 1 per month through June. Their delivery allows orderly release of chartered Boeing B-737-219s in February, April, and November, respectively, as Intair becomes the first North American airline to put the F.28 follow-on into revenue service. The new Fokkers are placed on the carrier’s Canadian Airlines International, Ltd. feeder services from Toronto to Montreal and Quebec City.
A number of new destinations are added during the year and the company becomes the sole airline to serve all regions of Quebec. Among the new stops are Toronto, Ontario; Alma and Dolbeau, Quebec; Moncton, Charlo, Chatham, and St. John, New Brunswick; and Charlottetown, Prince Edwards Island. Service between Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec is improved, along with that into the Abitibi region, while frequencies are also added in the Maritimes. As a result of all this expansion and continuing hard feelings in certain quarters, shareholders from Quebec vote in October to terminate the agreement with Canadian Airlines International, Ltd. and to continue operations as an independent.
By December, the airline is performing 1,000 departures per week to 36 destinations. A total of 843,962 passengers are flown on the year.
The fleet in 1990 includes 6 Avions de Transport Regional ATR42-320s, 9 Convair CV-580s, 7 Fokker 100s, 2 Lockheed L-188ACs, 5 Swearingen Metro IIs, and 2 F.28-1000s, the latter being leased to TAT (Transport Aerien Transregional, S. A.). Passenger traffic figures for the first 6 months show that a total of 451,653 customers have been carried, a 3.3% increase over the same period a year earlier. As a result of recession, computerized reservations system difficulties, and the Gulf crisis, costs accelerate and financial difficulties take center stage. In September, the regional seeks C$20 million from the Quebec provincial government.
New financing is provided in January 1991 as the Quebec provincial government rescues the regional from bankruptcy. First, the government agrees to an advance of C$2.5 million on annual subsidies for services to remote sites on the north shore of the St. Louis River. To settle a C$16-million lawsuit filed against the government back when the airline was known as Quebecair, Quebec authorities hand over another C$2.7 million.
The major shareholders, President Michel LeBlanc and Marcel Dutil, pledge a total of C$3 million in capital stock and the Bank of Montreal offers C$2 million more. The Quebec Federation of Labor, also known as Fonds de Solidarite des Travailleurs du Quebec, provides C$5 million in convertible debentures and the lessor, International Lease Financing Corporation (ILFC), agrees to postpone the next rental payments, worth C$4 million, for an indefinite period.
President LeBlanc resigns in March as the regional’s fiscal problems deepen. PWA, Inc.’s new Canadian Regional Airlines, Ltd. division purchase 70% of the company’s turboprop operation and Quebec routes in June and restart them as Inter-Canadien Airlines, Ltd. (2). Meanwhile, Intair retains four Fokker 100s, which are operated on charter. Regularly scheduled services commence in October between Toronto and Montreal. The costs associated with this service will prove the airline’s final undoing.
Discussions are held with Nationair, Ltd. concerning a merger; however, when these break down in November, Intair ceases operations and returns its aircraft to their manufacturer. The remaining 30% is cleared for transfer to Inter-Canadien Airlines, Ltd. (2) on April 27, 1994.
World History
