Transair (Canada)

Transair Airline codes|TZ|TTZ| was an airline based in Canada. It was purchased by Pacific Western Airlines in 1979.

History

Transair had its origins as Central Northern Airways- CNA in April 1947 and based in Manitoba, Canada. In 1956 the name was changed to Transair. The first scheduled route to be operated was from Winnipeg to Red Lake using a mixed fleet of C-46 Commando, Avro Anson, Avro York, Lockheed L-10 Electra, Lockheed L-12 Electra Junior, Bristol 170 and smaller Cessna and Waco aircraft.

In 1955 CNA took over Artic Wings and with the merger the name was changed to Transair in 1956. With expansion came the Douglas DC-4 and Douglas DC-3 in 1957. As Transair continued to grow, more routes were awarded and Douglas DC-6 and Douglas DC-7 were introduced to the fleet.

In 1965 Transair began international charter flights using the DC-6s and DC-7s. In 1968 it began to operate feeder flights to Air Canada and CPA with the introduction of de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter and NAMC YS-11.

In April 1973, Transair , then Canada's fourth largest airline, hired Rosella Bjornson as the first female First Officer on a Fokker F28 jet. She was the first woman to be hired by a commercial airline in Canada, and the first woman member of the Canadian Air Line Pilots Association [ [http://www.wai.org/resources/2004pioneers.cfm Women in Aviation] retrieved 15 December 2006] .

International expansion brought the introduction of jet aircraft in the form of the Boeing 737-2A9 in May 1970. With those charter flights to Florida, the Caribbean and Mexico were begin. In 1972 the Fokker F28 Fellowship was introduced followed the Boeing 707 a year later. By 1976 the route network extended throughout Canada and some cities in the USA, with charter flights to Europe, Mexico, Florida, the Caribbean and other cities (see route map [http://www.airtimes.com/cgat/ca/transair/detail/maptz760525.jpg] ).

In 1977 Pacific Western Airlines took over most of the shares of Transair and big losses led to a reduction in flights. As losses continued, the licenses and routes were transferred to Pacific Western on 1 December 1979 and Transair ceased to exist. [Airlines Remembered by BI Hengi, Publisher Midland Publishing]

Fleet

*C-46 Commando
*Avro Anson
*Avro York
*Lockheed L-10 Electra
*Lockheed L-12 Electra Junior
*Bristol 170
*Douglas DC-4
*Douglas DC-3
*Douglas DC-6
*Douglas DC-7
*de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
*NAMC YS-11
*Boeing 737-2A9
*Fokker F28 Fellowship
*Vickers 724 Viscount
*Boeing 707-320

External links

* [http://rzjets.net/operators/operator.php?opid=1322 Data information]
* [http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/tz.htm TimetableImages]
* [http://www.airtimes.com/cgat/ca/transair.htm Air Times timetable and logo images]

References