Inter-Canadien was a Canadian airline headquartered in

Dorval Dorval (; ) is an Greater Montreal, on-island suburban City (Quebec), city on the island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. In 2016, the Canadian Census indicated that the population increased by 4.2% to 18,980. Although the city has t ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

."World Airline Directory." ''

Flight International ''Flight International'', formerly ''Flight'', is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", i ...

''. 25–31 March 1998
p. 75
"795 Stuart Graham Boulevard North, Dorval, H4Y1E4, Quebec, Canada"

History

Inter-Canadien traces its roots back to

Quebecair Quebecair was a Canadian airline that operated from 1947 until 1986. Quebecair was headquartered in Saint-Laurent, Quebec, now a part of Montreal. History Early years Quebecair began as Rimouski Airlines in 1947 and flew under that name un ...

, which was founded in 1949. Quebecair grew to become a second-tier regional airline, operating

British Aircraft Corporation The British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric, English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs, Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft), the Bristol Aeroplane ...

BAC One-Eleven The BAC One-Eleven (BAC-111, BAC 1-11) is a retired early jet airliner produced by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Conceived by Hunting Aircraft as a 30-seat jet, before its merger into BAC in 1960, it was launched as an 80-seat airl ...

, Boeing 727-100, Boeing 737-200, and

Fokker F28 Fellowship The Fokker F28 Fellowship is a twin-engined, short-range jet airliner designed and built by Netherlands, Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. Following the Fokker F27 Friendship, an early and commercially successful turboprop-powered regional air ...

jets, as well as Convair 580,

Fairchild F-27 The Fairchild F-27 and Fairchild Hiller FH-227 are versions of the Fokker F27 Friendship twin-engined, turboprop, passenger aircraft formerly manufactured under license by Fairchild Hiller in the United States. The Fairchild F-27 was similar to ...

, and

Hawker Siddeley HS 748 The Hawker Siddeley HS 748 (formerly Avro HS 748) is a medium-sized turboprop airliner originally designed and initially produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Avro. It was the last aircraft to be developed by Avro prior to its absorptio ...

turboprops and other propeller aircraft on routes throughout the province of

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, and elsewhere in eastern Canada. In 1986, Quebecair was purchased by PWA Corporation (owner of

Pacific Western Airlines Pacific Western Airlines (PWA) was an airline that operated scheduled flights throughout western Canada and charter services around the world from the 1950s through the 1980s. In 1987, PWA purchased Canadian Pacific Air Lines, and the merged a ...

), the parent of

Canadian Airlines International Canadian Airlines International Ltd. (stylized as Canadi›n Airlines or Canadi‹n Airlines, or simply Canadian) was a major Canadian airline that operated from 1987 until 2001. The airline was Canada's second largest airline after Air Canada ...

, and merged with the regional subsidiary of

Nordair Nordair was a Quebec-based airline in Canada founded in 1947 from the merger of Boreal Airways and Mont Laurier Aviation. History The airline operated from the 1940s to the 1980s. Initially, most of its business was international and transatlan ...

, another Montreal-based airline that had also been acquired by PWA Corporation. In the late 1980s, Inter-Canadien rolled over its fleet, becoming the North American launch customer for the

Fokker 100 The Fokker 100 is a regional jet that was produced by Fokker in the Netherlands. The Fokker 100 was based on the Fokker F28 with a fuselage stretched by to seat up to 109 passengers, up from 85. It is powered by two newer Rolls-Royce Tay tur ...

twin jet and the first Canadian operator of the

ATR 42 The ATR 42 is a regional airliner produced by Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR (aircraft manufacturer), ATR, with final assembly in Toulouse, France. On 4 November 1981, the aircraft was launched with ATR, as a joint venture between French Aér ...

turboprop. At the same time, Canadian Airlines International sold control of Inter-Canadien to local businessman Michel Leblanc, but the airline continued to operate as a code-share partner of Canadian's. In 1990, Inter-Canadien cancelled its code-share agreement and began competing with Canadian Airlines International and

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada, by size and passengers carried. Air Canada is headquartered in the borough of Saint-Laurent in the city of Montreal. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and cha ...

on high density routes between

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, and Halifax. This new business plan was a failure, ending with Inter-Canadien entering court protection in 1991. Canadian Airlines International then repurchased the airline, returning it to its role as Canadian's Quebec feeder airline, disposing of the Fokker 100s, and standardizing the fleet on the ATR 42. In 1996, Inter-Canadien became a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian Regional Airlines, then the largest regional carrier in Canada and itself owned by Canadian Airlines International. In September 1998, Canadian Regional sold Inter-Canadien to Canadian Investors Group, a Toronto-based investment company owned by Robert Myhill and his partners. At the same time, Canadian Airlines International cancelled its code-share agreement with Air Atlantic and transferred Air Atlantic's routes in

Atlantic Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (), is the list of regions of Canada, region of Eastern Canada comprising four provinces: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. As of 2021, the landma ...

to Inter-Canadien. It also transferred a number of Canadian Regional Airlines routes in Ontario. As a result, Inter-Canadien almost doubled in size, increasing its fleet from ten ATR 42s to 16 ATR propjets and three

twin jets operating on a route network that reached from St, John's,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

, in the east to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, in the west. In July 1999, the airline announced an order for six new Embraer ERJ-135 regional jets, but these jets were never operated by the airline. Inter-Canadien suspended flight operations November 27, 1999, concurrent with the collapse of its code-share partner, Canadian Airlines International (which was acquired by Air Canada). The airline entered bankruptcy in April 2000. Its hangar facilities and maintenance licences were acquired by ExelTech Aerospace.

Management

* CEO Robert Myhill (1998-1999) * Vice President, Customer Service Michel Gagné (-1999) * Director, Human Resources Alain Desgagné, CHRP (1995-1999) * Director, Flight Operations Robert Learchaft (1998-1999) * Director, Maintenance Wayne Donald (1996-1999)

Staff

* 1,100 staff (1999) * 400 pilots (1999)

Fleet

* ATR-42-300 (1988-1999) *

(1998-1999) *

(1987-1991)

Hubs and destinations

When it ceased flight operations in 1999, Inter-Canadien was flying to 28 destinations in Canada: * Ontario ** Kingston ** London ** Sault Ste Marie ** Ottawa ** Toronto - Hub * Quebec ** Bagotville ** Baie Comeau ** Chibougamau ** Gaspe ** Iles de la Madeilaine ** La Grande ** Mont Joli ** Montreal - Hub ** Quebec City ** Rouyn-Noranda ** Sept-Iles ** Val d'Or * Atlantic Canada ** Charlo ** Charlottetown ** Chatham ** Deer Lake ** Fredericton ** Gander ** Halifax - Hub ** Moncton ** Saint John ** St John's ** Stephenville ** Sydney ** Wabush

References