Wardair
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wardair Canada (IATA: WD, ICAO: WDA, and Callsign: Wardair) was one of Canada's few privately run pre-deregulation airlines, founded by Max Ward in 1953 under the name Wardair Ltd. The airline formally changed its name to "Wardair Canada" in 1976 after using the name informally since 1962.
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[edit] History
Wardair provided domestic service in Quebec, Manitoba, Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta, as well as international service in Europe, the USA, and several Caribbean and South American countries. On March 31, 1989, the Canadian Transportation Agency approved the sale of Wardair to Canadian Airlines International.
Wardair had its roots in the air charter business in Yukon and the Northwest Territories. From a small start with small biplanes as passenger and cargo charter company, the airline expanded into the more populous regions of Canada and turned into a holiday charter airline, from 1962 onwards. Wardair was not a discount airline but an airline providing good service at lower-than-average prices. They were known for their high quality meals and friendly staff. "Steak & Champagne" flights was a popular advertising tag line in the 1980's, and won various awards from magazines for their service (Holiday Which? magazine charter airline of the year 1985, and scheduled carrier of the years 1986 and 1987).
The airline changed from charter to scheduled service in 1986. Rapid expansion, problems with their computer booking system, and failure to attract business customers, who had developed customer loyalty to frequent flier programmes on competing airlines, led the airline into financial difficulties, resulting in the sale to Canadian Airlines in 1989.
[edit] Destinations
- Abbotsford International Airport
- Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
- Calgary International Airport
- Cardiff, Wales - Cardiff International Airport
- Coppermine River, Nunavut (formerly in the Northwest Territories) - Coppermine Airport
- Dusseldorf, Germany - Düsseldorf International Airport
- Edmonton International Airport
- Elmdon Aerodrome/Birmingham International Airport
- Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
- Frankfurt International Airport
- Glasgow, Scotland - Glasgow Prestwick International Airport
- Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport
- Honolulu, Hawaii - Honolulu International Airport/Hickam Air Force Base
- London - Gatwick International Airport
- Los Angeles International Airport
- Miami International Airport
- Montreal, Quebec - Dorval International Airport
- Newcastle, England - Woolsington-Newcastle Airport
- Renton Municipal Airport
- Ringway Airport
- Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - Saskatoon International Airport
- Stockholm-Arlanda Airport
- Tampa International Airport
- Toronto International Airport
- Vancouver International Airport
- Yellowknife, Northwest Territories - Yellowknife Airport
[edit] Historical Fleet
- Airbus A300B4-203 - Used in late 80's
- 12 Airbus A310-304 [1] - Added 1980s
- 3 Bristol 170 Freighter[2]
- 2 Boeing 707 [3] - Added 1968
- 1 Boeing 727 [4] - Added 1966
- 4 Boeing 747 [5] - Added 1973
- 3 DHC-3 Otters [6]
- 1 DHC-2 Beavers [7]
- 1 Douglas DC-6 [8] - Added 1962
- 3 Douglas DC-10[9] [10] - Added 1978
[edit] References
Timeline of aviation
Aircraft · Aircraft manufacturers · Aircraft engines · Aircraft engine manufacturers · Airports · Airlines
Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft
Notable military accidents and incidents · Notable airline accidents and incidents · Famous aviation-related deaths
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