ONTARIO WORLDAIR, LTD.: Canada (1976-1981). Ontario Worl-dair is formed by a Jim Mclean-led group at Toronto in January 1976. A Boeing 707-338C is acquired in November 1978, allowing the long-dormant operator to undertake its first charter to Montego Bay on December 1. Charters and inclusive-tour flights for Sunflight Tours are flown to various points in the Caribbean, South America, and Europe during the summer of 1979. The Canadian government charters the aircraft during the fall to provide Vietnamese refugee airlift to Montreal and Toronto from Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok. In its first year, the Boeing visits 68 cities in 31 nations.
A Boeing 707-351C, purchased from the Belgian carrier Abelag, S. A., is placed into service in January 1980. The company’s two aircraft undertake a variety of nonscheduled flights to mostly holiday locales. Moslem Hadj pilgrims are flown from Kano to Jeddah in October; however, the contract is broken when Nigerian Airways, Ltd. complains about a foreign company taking business away from it.
Already in financial difficulty and short of cash with which to pay steadily increasing fuel bills, Ontario Worldair enters receivership on November 6. Although flight operations continue while a buyout is sought, the Abelag Boeing is turned over to Air Belgium, S. A. in December. A proposed travel agency bailout fails to materialize and the company ceases operations on January 13, 1981, after which its B-707-338C is sold to Worldways Canada, Ltd.
ONUR AIR, TASIMACLLIK, A. S.: Senlik Mahallesi No. 3 Gatal Sok, Florya, Istanbul, 34810, Turkey; Phone 90 (212) 663-2300; Fax 90 (212) 663-6054; Http://www. onurair. com. tr; Code 8Q; Year Founded 1992. Onur Air is established at Istanbul in late 1992 as the air transport subsidiary of the tour operator TK Air Travel. Shareholding is divided between Cankut Bagona, Hayri Icli, and Ursai Tubentci. Plans are put in place for the initiation of revenue flights during the following spring.
Chairman Bagona employs Capt. Bial Basar as vice president-flight operations and arrangements are completed for the lease of a single Airbus Industrie A320-211. Charters are inaugurated in May 1993 from all of the major German cities and destinations in several other European nations to vacation, metropolitan, and holiday locations in Turkey. Orders are placed for three more A320-211s, two of which are delivered by year’s end.
The fourth leased A320-211 is placed into service during 1994. In 1995, one each A320-212 and two A320-231s are added and orders are placed for two (later four) A321-131s and five McDonnell Douglas MD-88s, plus five options.
The first A321-131 is delivered to the carrier in June 1996 and enters service on routes from Istanbul to Paris (CDG), Lyon, and Hanover.
Operations continue apace in 1997 as the remainder of the Airbus order is filled. The first MD-88 is delivered in April. As the U. S.-made transports continue to arrive during the remainder of the year and in 1998, the company adds additional charter flights to European cities, particularly from the city of Antalya.
Flights continue in 1999. On May 19, the skin of a parked MD-88 is pierced by a baggage cart at Teesside, England. No injuries are reported. A full program of charters is continued during the summer and with the beginning of the fall schedule at the end of October, several new services to the Turkish coast begin. Among these are flights to Dalaman and Bodrum from such points as Humberside.
Airline employment stands at 200 at the beginning of 2000 and the fleet, which has been gradually changed over the last year, now includes 2 A300B4-103s, 2 A321-131s, and 5 MD-88s. To provide lift for its charter program in the fall, Volare Airlines, S. p.A. wet-leases both A321-131s from Onur on October 7.
An all-white A300B2 is received on December 23.
OPALAIR (OPALAIR SERVICES (PTY.), LTD.): Australia (19631985). Registered by founder Warwick Goldsworthy at Adelaide in 1963, this small charter operation is created to provide flights to the opal fields at Coober Pedy and Andamooka. Initial operations are undertaken with a Cessna 205.
Four years later in 1967, the company is reorganized; provided with an airline division, it becomes the first to hold an Australian commuter license and undertakes scheduled services to previous South Australia stops. Frequencies are improved during the remainder of the decade and through the 1970s.
By November 1981, Goldsworthy’s 14-employee company is offering operations to Woomera, Olympic Dam, Coober Pedy, and Maria. The fleet comprises 5 Cessna 421s and in 1982-1984 begins flying to Ayers Rock in the Northern Territory.
Unable to maintain viability in the face of national economic hardships, the carrier is forced out of business in 1985.
ORANGE AVIATION, LTD.: Ben Shemen 35, Moshav, Tel Aviv, 73115, Israel; Phone 972 (8) 923-5751; Fax 972 (8) 923-5758; Year Founded 1997. Orange Aviation is established at Tel Aviv in 1997 to offer executive and small group passenger charters around the country and to selected regional destinations. By 2000, Zvi Ehrlich employs 4 fulltime pilots and operates a fleet that includes 1 each Piper PA-23 Aztec, PA-31-310 Navajo, PA-42 Cheyenne III, Cessna 421, and Israel Aircraft Industries IAI-1124A Westwind 2.
ORBI GEORGIAN AIRLINES: Georgia (1992-1997). The Georgian directorate of Aeroflot Soviet Airlines is reformed at Tbilisi in 1992 as the flag carrier of the now-independent state of Georgia. Vasili S. Jamibasi is managing directorate and his fleet of ex-Aeroflot aircraft includes 12 Tupolev Tu-154s, 12 Tu-134s, and 20 Yakovlev Yak-40s. The previous routes to Moscow and the major cities of other republics are maintained while new services are flown to Cairo and Tel Aviv.
The civil war during the year and into 1993 causes traffic to plunge from a 1990 high of 2.72 million passengers flown. Several of the Yak-40s are lost to the hostilities.
Operations continue under the same adverse conditions in 1994. The fleet is steadily reduced to 6 Yak-40s and 4 each Tu-134As and Tu-154Bs, all painted in an attractive new livery with billboard “ORBI” titles on their forward fuselages.
An associated company, Georgian Airline-Orbi is established in 1995 and flights continue into 1996. A Boeing 737 is briefly employed during the former year, but is quickly withdrawn. Destinations visited include Batumi, Berlin, Cairo, Istanbul, Kiev, Moscow, Paris, Prague, Tel Aviv, Vienna, Volgograd, and various other CIS communities.
The company is merged with Georgian Airline-Orbi in March 1997, with the new company named simply Georgian Airlines.
ORCA AIR, S. A.E.: 40th Street, 254 Digla, Maadi, Cairo, Egypt; Phone 20 (02) 519-6664; Fax 2 (02) 519-6539; Http://www. orca-air. com; Code ORK; Year Founded 1995. Orca is founded at Cairo in the fall of 1995 by its president, Diaa el-Gabbari, to offer domestic passenger services. Revenue flights to Alexandria, Cairo, Aswan, Hurghada, and Luxor commence in December with a single Beech King Air 90. Orders are placed for two Fairchild Metro 23Es.
Government approval for start-up, under the law 159 of 1981, is belatedly received on February 3, 1996.
In a March ceremony at the Fairchild Aircraft plant, President el-Gabbari takes possession of his airline’s premier Metro 23E, the first of its type to be outfitted with the new Electronic Flight Information System (EFIS). Sharm al-Sheikh joins the route network during the summer.
A second Metro 23E enters service in 1997. Frequencies to and between Alexandria, Aswan, Hurghada, and Luxor are increased. New stops are also introduced to Aqaba and St. Catherine. Plans are made to lease a pair of McDonnell Douglas MD-83s by October 1998. Enplane-ments for the year total 36,550.
It is reported on the company Web site in April 1998 that the company, during its first 17 months, has transported a total of 24,612 passengers during 1,695 flying hours. Two de Havilland Canada DHC-8-300s are leased during the fall. The MD-83s are not delivered. Instead, a Boeing 707F is acquired to operate all-cargo services throughout the Middle East region.
Flights continue in 1999. Destinations visted include Sharm el Sheikh, Cairo, Aswan, Abu-Simble, Luxor, St. Catherine, El-Gouna, Aqaba, Cyprus, Malta, Antalya, Amman, and Rhodes. An air ambulance service, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, is also introduced.
Airline employment at the beginning of 2000 totals 150.
World History
