H. Strachan and J. Bekker form United Air at Sunnyside in the Transvaal in 1965 to offer scheduled commuter services linking the base with Johannesburg, Pretoria, Pietersburg, and Sishen. At the end of the decade, control of the company is acquired by a holding company, Uni-tair Holdings, Ltd., formed to allow diversification.
In September 1975, Sandriver Safaris (Pty.), Ltd. purchases the carrier and names H. Beetge as chairman and managing director. His fleet now comprises two Douglas DC-3s, a Piper PA-31-310 Navajo, and two Piper Aztecs. A third DC-3 is purchased for the fleet in March 1976.
Operations continue apace in 1977-1978 and a Vickers Viscount 700 is acquired in 1979. These are now dedicated to charter and contract services while the scheduled routes are shared with Magnum Airlines (Pty.), Ltd., which employs its own Navajos and Fairchild Swearingen Metro IIs to maintain them.
Flights continue into the 1980s. Destinations visited from Pretoria include Johannesburg, Louis Trichardt, Pietersburg, Sishen, and Vryburg. Equipment employed in 1985-1987 includes 3 DC-3s, 1 Cessna 402, and 1 Vickers Viscount 700.
Just after takeoff from Johannesburg on April 12, 1988, a chartered DC-3C with 3 crew and 21 passengers suffers an on-board fire; the pilot attempts to return to the point of origin and make an emergency landing, but the aircraft crashes before it can reach the runway. There are no survivors.
The company shuts down shortly thereafter.
UNITED AIR TRANSPORT, LTD. (UAT): Canada (1937-1938). On August 4, 1937, under the banner of United Air Transport, Ltd., pioneer pilots Grant McConachie and Ginger Coote, the latter owner of his own carrier, launch the first official direct airmail route in Canada, from Vancouver to the Yukon. The route covered by the two men in a Fleet seaplane runs from Vancouver to Whitehorse and Dawson City via Fort St. John, Williams Lake, Quesnel, and Prince George. UAT’s Noorduyn Norseman and Ford 4-AT-10 Tri-Motor are also placed on this route.
Later in the year, Ginger Coote Airways, Ltd. and UAT amalgamate into Yukon Southern Air Transport, Ltd., with McConachie as president. Service is now started from Ware to Prince George and from Vancouver to Fort St. John and Edmonton.
World History
