Air BC

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Defunct regional airline of Canada (1980–2001)

title: "Air BC" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["air-canada", "defunct-airlines-of-canada", "canadian-companies-established-in-1980", "canadian-companies-disestablished-in-2002", "airlines-established-in-1980", "airlines-disestablished-in-2002", "companies-based-in-richmond,-british-columbia", "1980-establishments-in-british-columbia", "2002-disestablishments-in-british-columbia", "former-star-alliance-affiliate-members", "defunct-companies-of-british-columbia"] description: "Defunct regional airline of Canada (1980–2001)" topic_path: "geography/canada" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_BC" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Defunct regional airline of Canada (1980–2001) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox airline"]

FieldValue
airlineAir BC Ltd.
logoAir BC Logo, January 2000.svg
imageAir BC 146-200.jpg
image_size250px
captionA BAe 146-200 in Air Canada Connector livery in 1989 at now closed Edmonton City Centre Airport (YXD).
IATAZX
ICAOABL
callsignAIRCOACH
founded
ceased
(merged with Air Nova, Air Ontario and Canadian Regional Airlines to form Air Canada Jazz)
hubsVancouver International Airport
frequent_flyerAeroplan
allianceStar Alliance (affiliate; 1997–2001)
parentAir Canada
headquartersRichmond, British Columbia, Canada
::

| airline = Air BC Ltd. | logo = Air BC Logo, January 2000.svg | image = Air BC 146-200.jpg | image_size = 250px | alt = | caption = A BAe 146-200 in Air Canada Connector livery in 1989 at now closed Edmonton City Centre Airport (YXD). | IATA = ZX | ICAO = ABL | callsign = AIRCOACH | founded = | commenced = | ceased = (merged with Air Nova, Air Ontario and Canadian Regional Airlines to form Air Canada Jazz) | aoc = | bases = | hubs = Vancouver International Airport | secondary_hubs = | focus_cities = | frequent_flyer = Aeroplan | lounge = | alliance = Star Alliance (affiliate; 1997–2001) | subsidiaries = | fleet_size = | destinations = | company_slogan = | parent = Air Canada | headquarters = Richmond, British Columbia, Canada | key_people = | revenue = | operating_income = | net_income = | profit = | assets = | equity = | website =

Air BC was a Canadian regional airline headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. It later became part of Air Canada Jazz. This regional airline primarily flew turboprop aircraft but also operated jets as well as an Air Canada Connector carrier on behalf of Air Canada via a code share feeder agreement.

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Air_BC_BN-2A.jpg" caption="A"] ::

BN-2 Islander aircraft in 1983 at Vancouver International Airport (YVR)]] ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Air_BC_Dash_7.jpg" caption="A [[DHC-7 Dash 7]] aircraft in 1983 at Vancouver International Airport (YVR)"] ::

Air BC was established in 1980 after the merger (by the Jim Pattison Group) of a number of west coast domestic airlines: Calumet Air Service, Canadian Air Transit, Flight Operation, Gulf Air Aviation, Haida Airlines, Island Airlines, Omineca Air Services, Pacific Coast Air Services and West Coast Air Services. A combined fleet emerged, including STOL capable de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters with some Twin Otters being operated as float planes. In 1983, STOL capable DHC-7 Dash 7 turboprop aircraft were delivered and then in 1986 DHC-8 Dash 8-100 turboprops were acquired.

In 1987, Air Canada purchased 85% of Air BC and with Air Nova both air carriers became Air Canada regional partners operating as Air Canada Connector. Air BC entered the jet age in 1988 with British Aerospace BAe 146-200 aircraft which was the only jetliner type ever operated by the air carrier. In 1994, the airline was operating British Aerospace Jetstream 31 propjets as part of their Air Canada Connector code share feeder services. Stretched DHC-8 Dash 8-300 turboprop aircraft were introduced as well. In March 1995, Air Canada purchased the remaining shares of Air BC.

In January 2001, a newly merged carrier called Air Canada Regional Inc was established. A wholly owned subsidiary of Air Canada, this company combined the individual strengths of five regional airlines – Air BC, Air Nova, Air Ontario, Air Alliance and Canadian Regional Airlines. Consolidation of these five companies was completed in 2002 and was marked by the launch of a new name and brand: Air Canada Jazz.[[File:AirBC late80s logo.gif|thumb|AirBC logo during the late 1980s, before being bought by Air Canada.]]

Destinations

Air BC served the following destinations in the fall of 1991 in Canada and the U.S. according to the Air BC – Air Canada Connector November 3, 1991, system timetable route map; by 1999, Air BC had expanded its Air Canada Connector service and was flying BAe 146-200 jet service nonstop between Edmonton and Denver. In 2001, Air BC was operating Air Canada Connector service with its BAe 146-200 jets nonstop to Denver from Edmonton, Winnipeg and Vancouver.

Alberta

Fleet

Air BC operated the following aircraft:

::data[format=table title="Air BC fleet"]

AircraftTotalIntroducedRetiredNotes
BAe 146-100119802002
BAe 146-200719882001
BAe Jetstream 31
Britten-Norman BN-2A Islander
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter819801996
de Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7
de Havilland Canada DHC-8-100 Dash 81519852002
de Havilland Canada DHC-8-300 Dash 8619902002
::

Notes

References

References

  1. "World Airline Directory." ''Flight International''. March 30, 1985. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1985/1985%20-%200894.html 34]." Retrieved on June 17, 2009. "Head Office: 4680 Cowley Crescent, Richmond, British Columbia V7B 1C1, Canada"
  2. "Air BC".
  3. https://www.departedflights.com, June 1, 1999 Official Airline Guide (OAG), Denver-Edmonton flight schedules
  4. (29 September 2022). "Airlines Serving Denver in June 2001".
  5. [https://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/Saf-Sec-Sur/2/CCARCS-RIACC/RchHsRes.aspx?st=2&m=%7C%7C&cn=%7C%7C&mn=%7C%7C&sn=%7C%7C&cnn=%7CAIR%20BC%7C&tn=%7C%7C&ln=%7C%7C&fn=%7C%7C&rfr2=RchHs.aspx&print=y Canadian Civil Aircraft Register: History Search Result] for "Air BC"

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

air-canadadefunct-airlines-of-canadacanadian-companies-established-in-1980canadian-companies-disestablished-in-2002airlines-established-in-1980airlines-disestablished-in-2002companies-based-in-richmond,-british-columbia1980-establishments-in-british-columbia2002-disestablishments-in-british-columbiaformer-star-alliance-affiliate-membersdefunct-companies-of-british-columbia