Nolisair

Nationair Canada was a Canadian airline that carried out mainly charter flights. Additionally, the Company operated two line routes to Europe and continued her aircraft in the so -called wet-lease to other airlines one.

History

The Canadian entrepreneur Robert Obadia founded in 1984 Nolisair International, which included the airline Nationair Canada and the maintenance company Technair. The flight operations began in December 1984 with two Douglas DC 8-61. In the first year of its existence Nationair flew mainly charter services to Florida, Mexico and the Caribbean. In addition, scheduled flights between Montreal and Toronto were performed but they were unprofitable and were discontinued after a few months. From 1986 carried transatlantic charter flights to United Kingdom, France and Portugal.

On 3 May 1987, a line route between Montreal and Brussels was opened, took on the Nationair with very low fares against the established airlines. A year later scheduled flights from Hamilton to London -Gatwick were taken. As of June 1988, the company sold two aircraft one on behalf of the Spanish airline Hispania. The following year, a similar lease agreement with the French Union de Transports Aériens was closed. With the acquisition of second-hand Boeing 747 and Boeing 757 fleet was greatly expanded in January 1990 and the older Douglas DC-8 gradually replaced. The expansion Nationair was the third largest Canadian airline.

The crash of a crowded Douglas DC-8 on July 11, 1991 ushered in the economic decline of the company. Frequent delays and flight cancellations due to technical reasons reinforced the negative impression in the public and led to several tour operators did not renew their charter contracts. On 19 November 1991, the flight attendants went on a indefinite strike to force better working conditions. The Board thereupon blocked from all unionized flight attendants. At the end of the 16 -month labor dispute, the company's financial situation had deteriorated dramatically. The flight was closed down on 22 March 1993, after Nationair overdue landing fees and taxes of 60 million Canadian dollars could not pay. The bankruptcy of the company followed on 12 May 1993.

Incidents

On July 11, 1991, a DC 8-61 (C- GMXQ ) crashed near the airport of Nationair King Abdulaziz International in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The leased by Nigeria Airways aircraft was on a flight to Sokoto to bring pilgrims to Mecca back to Nigeria. When starting in Jeddah two tires of the left main landing gear had burst and catch fire. After retraction of the landing gear, the fire spread from the body of the machine and destroyed the hydraulic lines. The pilots tried to Jeddah to repent and thereby increasing reported problems with the controller. The plane crashed at 8.40 clock local time, about three kilometers south of the middle runway 34 at a speed of 440 kilometers per hour on the ground and exploded on impact. All 261 passengers, including 14 Canadian crew members died in the accident.

Used aircraft

  • Boeing 747-100 and 747-200
  • Boeing 757-200
  • Douglas DC-8- 61, DC-8 -62 and DC - 8-63
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