Ltd. undertakes nonscheduled passenger and cargo charters to a variety of destinations in central and southern Africa. Operations are maintained over the next 12 years with a few heavy aircraft and a number of light-planes, primarily de Canada Havilland DHC-2 Beavers.
Jack M. Malloch is named managing director. The major units of his fleet include 1 Douglas DC-4, 2 DC-7Cs, and 1 de Havilland DH 114 Heron. The latter is employed in 1966 to offer Salisbury to Victoria Falls tourist services. The Douglas freighters operate up the west coast of the continent via Luanda, Sao Tome, and the Canary Islands, to Lisbon.
In cooperation with the South African independent carrier Protea Airways (Pty.), Ltd., roundtrips to Mauritius begin in January 1967.
Interesting events in the company’s history now occur. The company, which has acquired a Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation from
VARIG Brazilian Airlines (Viacao Aerea Rio-Grandense, S. A.), commits its support to the Biafran airlift. Following the secession of Biafra from Nigeria in May, a group of mercenaries under Capt. Hank Wharton are contracted to begin providing night supply flights from Sao Tome or Libreville into rebel aerodromes. Following the capture of Enugu and Port Harcourt, the principal destination becomes the airfield at Uli. To counter the mercenary missions, the Nigerians commandeer six Nigeria Airways, Ltd. DC-3s for use as night bombers against the rebels.
The night flights continue into 1968, with the airlift ending in mid-February. Although several aircraft have been lost, that from Air Trans Africa is not one of them. A second Super G Constellation is purchased from TAP-Air Portugal, S. A. at year’s end.
Operations continue apace during the remainder of the decade and into the 1970s. In 1977, the subsidiary Air Gabon Cargo, S. A. is formed and registered at Libreville. The following year Managing Director Malloch acquires another DH 114 Heron. The carrier ceases operations in 1980 when the nation becomes Zimbabwe.
AIR TRANSAT, LTD.: 11600 Cargo Road A1, Montreal International Airport, Mirabel, Quebec J7N 1O9, Canada; Phone (514) 476-1011; Fax (514) 476-0338; Http://www. airtransat. com; Code TS; Year Founded 1987. This international charter airline is established at Montreal’s Mirabel Airport by the local tour wholesaler Traffic Voyages, Ltd. during the Air Canada, Ltd. strike of January 1987. Jean-Marc Eustache is president. In addition to a purchased unit, two Lockheed L-1011 TriStar Is are leased from Air Canada, Ltd. and employed to operate several of the state carrier’s charters during the job action, including those for Treasure Tours. Destinations visited, via refueling stops at Goose Bay or Gander, include London (STN), Dublin, and Shannon.
One of the leased Lockheeds is replaced by a second purchased TriStar I in May 1988 and is used to initiate flights from Montreal, Toronto, and Quebec City to Paris in June. Late in the year, Treasure Tours cuts back its inclusive trip demand. Still, winter flights are offered to the Caribbean, Florida, Mexico, and Las Vegas.
In the spring of 1989 new services are opened from Toronto to Manchester and Prestwick. A third L-1011 is purchased from Eastern Air Lines in June and undertakes Montreal-Paris charters on behalf of French travel agencies. The earlier TriStars are upgraded to L-1011-50 standard in order to provide nonstop transatlantic service. Enplanements reach 424,000 in 1990.
Company employment is increased by 20% in 1991 to 600 and the fleet now includes 4 L-1011s and 3 Boeing 727-233As acquired from Air Canada, Ltd., the latter in May and June.
The company’s first scheduled service is inaugurated in December between Montreal and Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Enplanements for the year nearly double, to 806,000, and revenues total C$125 million.
The payroll grows a further 16.5% in 1992 to 699 as 2 B-757-200ERs join the fleet. Orders are outstanding for another TriStar and 4 more B-757-200ERs.
Passenger boardings jump 10.6% to 891,000 and revenues reach C$138.8 million.
In 1993, President F. LeGault oversees a workforce of 750 and provides flights to cities in the Caribbean and Mexico, as well as the European destinations of Belfast, Birmingham, Dublin, Frankfurt, Glasgow, London, Manchester, Newcastle, and Shannon. Two bays of a hangar facility are acquired at Montreal’s Mirabel Airport. Enplanements total 1,417,769.
Airline employment is cut by 8.8% in 1994 to 706 and company headquarters are transferred into the new Montreal hangar facility. The leased fleet now includes 2 B-757-23As, 3 L-1011-100s, and 1 each B-757-236, B-757-28A, L-1011-1, and L-1011-50. The 3 B-727-233As are withdrawn.
Passenger boardings inch up 1.5% to 1,424,893 and revenues decline
0.5% to C$196 million. Still, a net C$5.6-million profit is reported.
The three B-727-233As retired the previous year are sold in 1995. European travelers rush to Canada during the summer to enjoy the advantages of Canada’s weak dollar; much of the traffic from Germany to Montreal is dominated by Air Transat. In November, an unsolicited takeover bid is received from Montreal-based Royal Aviation, Ltd.; it is not accepted. Net profit triples to C$16.9 million.
A former TAP-Air Portugal, S. A. L-1011-500 is acquired under a lease-purchase arrangement from Fortis Aviation during January 1996. It is employed to open new services to Portugal, followed by Poland.
The French carrier STAR Europe (Societe de Transport Aerien Reigonal, S. A.) is purchased at the end of the year by the company’s parent, the travel concern Look Voyages. Look Voyages is part of the Transat Group and thus becomes the European associate of Air Transat, Ltd. Philippe Sureau is now president/CEO of the carrier.
Enplanements for the year total 1.75 million.
A B-757-2Q8 arrives in April 1997 under charter from the International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC). Just after takeoff from Toronto on May 22 on a service to Las Vegas, the B-757-28A is forced to return to its point of origin by what turns out to be a faulty engine monitor box.
In June, another TriStar formerly operated by the Portuguese flag carrier is also leased from Fortis.
In September-October the company leases two B-737-46Ms operated by the Belgian carrier Virgin Express Airlines, S. A. to assist with the winter season’s Florida charters. The two aircraft will be returned in late March 1998.
On April 3 a company L-1011-500 completes a 12-day contract to provide lift for the media entourage accompanying President Clinton to Africa. Seven destinations in six countries are visited and the crew— 4 in the cabin, 13 flight attendants, and 6 support personnel—work in shifts in various capacities.
While en route from Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Toronto on August 25, Flight 311, a B-757-2Q8 with 8 crew and 221 passengers, is forced to make an emergency landing at Shannon Airport after one of its engines shuts down. Fire crews standing by at the Irish aerodrome are not required and no injuries are reported.
The company’s other B-757 is sent to Shannon to pick up the stranded passengers, who reach Toronto next day. Each of the travelers is given C$150 compensation by the airline, which also arranges to pay for their trips home and reimburses them for wages lost due to the delay.
Capt. Jean Guertin, the carrier’s first chief pilot, is on hand at Montreal on December 15 as the company unveils a new aircraft livery. The Air Transat name will now appear in billboard letters on the all-white fuselages of its aircraft. On the tail, a white star peers out from the clouds. The change reflects the strategic development of a synergy within the Transat Group with STAR Europe (Societe de Transport Aerien Regional, S. A.), whose activities are complementary to those of Air Transat.
At the end of the year, Air Europe leases the former TAP-Air Portugal, S. A. long-range L-1011-500. Enplanements for the year total 2.5 million.
In ceremonies at Toulouse on February 23, 1999, the company accepts delivery of the first of two new Airbus Industrie A330-243s. The second aircraft is delivered in April. Both of the new A330s, chartered from ILFC, are assigned to Air Transat’s summer transatlantic routes, particularly on nonstop flights from Vancouver to Europe and from Toronto and Montreal to Portugal and Greece. The planes will also be assigned to Hawaii service during the fall schedule.
The Canadian Industrial Relations Board on May 17 certifies the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) as the new collective bargaining unit for the company’s pilots.
Arriving at Toronto for a 300-mi. flight to Montreal on June 26, businessman Michel Tasse ends up making the longest day-trip in history. In an error uncaught by either departure gate or cabin personnel, Tasse is boarded aboard the company’s Manchester-bound L-1011-500. By the time the error is discovered and corrected, Tasse has nearly arrived in
England. Air Transat returns him to Toronto and gives him a ticket aboard a rival airline to Montreal—a 7,000-mi. detour.
Enplanements these 12 months total 2.5 million. For the year ending in October, the carrier’s parent, Transat A. T., has revenues of C$1.1 billion and record net income of C$20.4 million.
At the beginning of 2000, airline employment is 1,500. Early in the year, the company receives government approval to offer scheduled services to Germany and the U. K. in order to insure competition for the Air Canada/Canadian Airlines combine.
In order to provide additional capacity for these scheduled transatlantic routes, the company, in mid-August, orders 6 refurbished A310-304s, the first of which will begin delivery in December.
A B-757-23A and Dash-2Q8 are employed on June 15 to launch twice-weekly scheduled roundtrips from Montreal to Vancouver via Toronto and Winnipeg.
Arrangements are completed with Emirates Airlines on July 11 for the purchase of the Mideast airline’s 6 A310-304s. When the Airbuses begin to arrive in December, they will start to replace the TriStar fleet.
AIR TRANSIT: United States (1959-1968). Organized at Show Low, Arizona, in the spring of 1959, this scheduled third-level operator is outfitted with a fleet of Beechcraft lightplanes. Beech 18 and Cessna 205/310 revenue flights commence on May 12 linking the company’s base with Douglas, Prescott, Phoenix, and other local destinations.
Service continues until 1968.
AIR TRANSIT, LTD.: Canada (1974-1976). To demonstrate the effectiveness of STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) aircraft for commuter shuttle operations, Air Canada, Ltd. receives a C$20-million grant in 1974 from the Canadian Department of Air Transport to provide the manpower and management necessary to undertake a trial under the name “Air Transit.”
Operated with six de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300s, roundtrip hourly flight operations from Rockcliffe Airport (Ottawa) to the Expo ’67 parking lot (Montreal) commence on July 24. Deemed a complete success, the experimental service ceases on April 30, 1976 and the Twin Otters are turned over by the flag carrier to the DOT.
AIR TRANSIT (PTY.), LTD.: Australia (1986-1990). Air Transit (Pty.), Ltd. is formed at Adelaide Airport in 1986 to provide scheduled services to Kangaroo Island. The initial fleet comprises three Cessna 402s. By the time the third-level carrier is renamed Air Kangaroo Island (Pty.), Ltd. in 1990 it has acquired a third Cessna 402.
AIR TRANSPORT: 7007 Boeing Drive, El Paso International Airport, El Paso, Texas 79925, United States; Phone (915) 772-1448; Fax (915) 772-1467; Year Founded 1979. AT is set up at El Paso in 1979 to offer executive charter, cargo, and air ambulance services. Certification is received for flights throughout the U. S. and Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America.
Revenue operations begin and by 2000 General Manager Jerry Wingett’s concern flies 3 Learjet 25s and 1 each piston-engine Cessna 206T Turbo Skywagon, C-210, C-402 Business/Utiliner, C-404 Titan, and C-421.
AIR TRANSPORT CHARTER, LTD.: United Kingdom (19461952). Founded at Jersey Airport in July 1946, Air Transport Charter (Channel Islands) does not begin operations until March 1947 after 2 Miles M.57 Aerovan 4s are delivered. Following a month of produce charters, the first ex-military Douglas C-47A is purchased on April 1; christened St. Martin, it begins flying holiday charters from the Channel Islands to U. K. cities on April 2. The Aerovan 4s are sold in June and by fall the fleet includes 3 DC-3s and 3 de Havilland DH 89As Dragon Rapides.
The Dakotas begin produce charters to Bovington Airport from France and Italy in early 1948. On May 20, the St. Martin, en route to Boving-ton from Valencia, is destroyed in a crash at Bovington (three dead).
It is replaced in June by another DC-3, named St. Saviour, allowing summer Channel Island charter flights to continue without interruption. On August 4, the St. Saviour is diverted to Fassberg for participation in the Berlin Airlift; upon its withdrawal on November 10, the DC-3 has flown 205 sorties into the former German capital.
Produce and passenger charters continue from 1948-1950 without incident or undue excitement. In October 1950, the airline is purchased by the London-based travel consultants Lambert Brothers, which moves the carrier’s Dakotas from the Channel Islands to Blackbushe Airport.
In 1951, the airline flies a significant number of replacement flights for both British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and British European Airways Corporation (BEA) as well as military personnel flights under contract to the Royal Air Force.
While climbing away from Manchester on March 27, the DC-3 St. Saviour, with three crew, loses an engine in icing conditions and crashes (two dead). Summer flights to the Channel Islands resume in June.
Military contracts see the carrier through the winter. The summer of 1952 marks the company’s last series of European and Channel Islands flights as the company is successfully prosecuted for operation of an unlicensed Blackbushe-Jersey service. Flight operations cease on October 31, the aircraft are sold, and the firm is reconfigured into an avionics company.
AIR TRANSPORT EUROPE, A. S.: Tatry Airport, Poprad, SK-05898, Slovak Republic; Phone 421 (92) 61 911; Fax 421 (92) 61 945; Http://www. trynet. sk/ate; Year Founded 1991. ATE is set up at Poprad in 1991 to provide charter passenger services to regional destinations. Operations into Yugoslavia become spotty during that nation’s civil war in mid-decade.
By 1999, Managing Director Milan Hoholik oversees a 28-person workforce and flights by his single Tupolev Tu-134A generate $6.6 million in sales.
With the start of NATO military operations on March 24 against Yugoslavia on behalf of the province of Kosovo, flights into Belgrade cease. They are allowed to resume in early July.
AIR TRANSPORT INTERNATIONAL, L. L.C. (ATI): 3800 Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock, Arkansas 72212, United States; Phone (501) 224-8175; Fax (501) 224-8164; Http://www. baxworld. com; Code 8C; Year Founded 1980. ATI is established at Miami in November 1980 to offer contract service flights and engage in the aircraft leasing business. A fleet is assembled, including 2 Douglas DC-8-55Fs and 2 DC-8-62Fs. Revenue flights are inaugurated in January 1981 over routes to Latin America. Operations continue apace for the next three years, but lacking the kind of aircraft necessary to meet Stage 2 noise regulations, the company shuts down in 1985.
During 1987, the two, grounded DC-8-62Fs are taken in hand and outfitted with hush kits. The 21-employee company, now based in Arkansas, reenters the contract game in July 1988. In September, the assets of bankrupt Interstate Airlines are purchased.
By year’s end, a total of 13.83 million FTKs are flown. Revenues total $9 million and costs allow both operating and net profits $1.7 million.
The fleet in 1989 includes another DC-8-62F and 2 DC-8-61Fs, all appropriately silenced. Worldwide cargo charters are undertaken on behalf of the U. S. Department of Defense, the automotive industry, and other express-package operators.
Charters are also flown on demand for other charter and freightforwarding companies. Cargo increases to 67.9 million FTKs and revenues reach $29.2 million. The profits are $2.93 million (operating) and $3.02 million (net).
The workforce declines 0.1% in 1990 to 90, but traffic and revenues balloon. Freight skyrockets 133.1% to 186.2 million FTKs and revenues jump 47.4% to $43.06 million. Expenses rise only 42.4% to $37.41 million and allow an operating profit of $5.64 million. At $5.82 million, net gain almost doubles.
The employee population swells 30.3% in 1991 to 142 and the fleet now includes 2 each DC-8-61Fs and DC-8-62Fs plus 3 DC-8-63Fs. Orders are outstanding for 2 Boeing 747-100Fs, which will be wet-leased out or employed on charters.
Having decided to abort takeoff from New York (JFK) on a March 12 Brussels service, the pilot of a DC-8-62H-AF, with two other crew, is unable to stop the aircraft before it goes off the end of the runway. It hits a sand berm and an instrument landing system (ILS) shack, losing both its landing gear and four engines. Although the freighter is damaged beyond repair, there are no fatalities.
Cargo inches up by 0.9% to 187.54 million FTKs and revenues move ahead by 3.5% to $44.55 million. Expenses rise 8.1% to $40.31 million, causing the operating income to slide to $4.12 million. Net profit also slips to $4.58 million.
While on final approach to Toledo on a February 15, 1992 service from Seattle, the cockpit crew of Flight 805, a DC-8-63F, apparently becomes disoriented and the freighter is placed into an unusual attitude from which recovery is not possible. The Douglas crashes 3 mi. NW of the runway and there are no survivors.
A fourth DC-8-63F is acquired as a replacement. Recession, however, has a more significant impact on the carrier than the loss of a freighter. Through November, cargo is down 5.7% to 192.6 million FTKs. Revenues plunge 43.7% to $25.07 million, but expenses drop 40% to $24.25 million. Consequently, operating profit declines to $821,916 while net gain is cut to $996,567.
Airline employment stands at 250 in 1993 and President David Clark’s fleet now includes 2 each DC-8-61Fs and DC-8-62Fs plus 9 DC-8-71Fs and 3 DC-8-63Fs.
Freight recovers and increases 62% to 344.59 million FTKs. Revenues skyrocket 70.6% to $42.77 million, expenses are up 55.5% to $37.73 million, and operating profit jumps to $5.04 million. The net profit hits $5.13 million.
Operations continue apace in 1994 as a total of 7,000 charter passengers are flown. ICX International Cargo Express is merged on October
1. Two more DC-8-63Fs are acquired, including 1 received from the Irish airline Aer Turas, Ltd. together with 5 DC-8-62Fs. Four of these will be operated as pure freighters and the rest will be placed in a combi configuration. Simultaneously, the company receives a contract to operate 9 DC-8-71Fs of Burlington Air Express from that concern’s Toledo hub to 30 domestic U. S. destinations.
Cargo swells 7.1% to 369.2 million FTKs. Revenues skyrocket 104.2% to $87.33 million as expenses jump 92% to $72.47 million. There is an operating surplus of $14.86 million and a net gain of $15.1 million.
The workforce stands at 460 in 1995. Approved by FAA Inspector Jeffrey Lashbrook to fly to Massachusetts for maintenance with but three engines, a DC-8-63F fails its takeoff from Kansas City Airport on February 17 and crashes into the ground, sliding 2,300 m. before stopping (three dead).
Lashbrook will be censured by Federal safety officials in their March 30 report for allowing an inexperienced crew to depart with the ineffective jetliner.
During the summer, the company undertakes nightly return cargo flights from Hartford, Connecticut, and San Juan, transporting raw, semifinished, and finished pharmaceutical and accessories on behalf of several major drug companies. The DC-8-63F service, arranged by Lep Profit International, insures a return in daylight via Columbus, Ohio.
At year’s end, the Little Rock-based charter operator is granted national status by the DOT.
Enplanements skyrocket 80% to 27,000 while freight rises 5.5% to 553 million FTKs. There are profits: $11.95 million (operating) and $12.24 million (net).
The employee population is increased by 8.7% in 1996 to 500. Customer bookings ascend 7.4% to 29,000 and 626.69 million FTKs are operated, a 13.3% increase. Operating income dips 1.4% to $128.78 million and expenses jump 10% to $130.42 million. The previous year’s operating profit is turned into a $1.66-million loss while the net picture turns from positive to negative with a $5.91-million loss.
The employee population is cut by 10% to 450 in 1997. The fleet now includes 9 DC-8-62CFs, 11 DC-8-71Fs, 8 DC-8-63Fs, and 1 DC-8-61F, all configured for freight services. Some are wet-leased to other carriers. Others continue to provide worldwide all-cargo services for the U. S. auto industry, air freight forwarders, computer and oil exploration concerns, the DOD, and the express-package delivery industry.
Passenger boardings plunge 24.2% to 22,000 while freight declines 16% to 526.62 million FTKs. Revenues reach $132.9 million, but losses are higher and there are losses: $4.72 million (operating) and $15.53 million (net).
BAX Global purchases the company in February and begins to operate it as a subsidiary in April 1998. Domestic and international all-cargo services are continued on behalf of integrated express companies and the U. S. military. Four DC-8-63Fs are withdrawn.
Customer bookings jump 9.1% to 24,000, while cargo traffic plunges 17.1% to 435.57 million FTKs. Revenues drop 19.6% to $106.97 million, while expenditures are down 19% to $111.46 million. The operating loss improves slightly to $4.48 million and there is a net gain of $17.47 million.
Airline employment at the beginning of 1999 stands at 450.
The year’s passenger boardings drop 4.2%, but cargo surges 9.2% to 475,757,000 FTKs. Operating revenues jump 22.8% to $131,348,000 while costs are up 22.1% to $136,082,000. The operating loss deepens slightly to $4.73 million, but the previous year’s net profit becomes a $4.7-million net loss.
Airline employment stands at 655 at the start of 2000, a 20% increase during the past 12 months.
World History
