Early years at Montreal Dorval in 1971 turboprop airliner at Montreal Dorval in 1971 Quebecair began as
Rimouski Airlines in 1947 and flew under that name until it merged with
Gulf Aviation in 1953 under the name Quebec-Air. The aircraft in operation at the time were the
Beech 18, the
de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver and the
Douglas DC-3. Operations were mainly based in
Quebec and
Montreal was added in 1957. Eventually the latter city became the operating base for Quebecair. In 1958, a fire in a hangar destroyed three DC-3s, and
Fairchild F-27 turboprop aircraft were then purchased to replace the destroyed aircraft. The F-27 propjets proved to be very successful. As operations increased, the company introduced a new, larger aircraft in the form of the
Convair CV-540 turboprop, which was put on the main route between Montreal and Quebec. In later years, Quebecair also operated the
Convair 580 turboprop. During the 1960s, the company took over various airlines as
Matane Air Service,
Northern Wings,
RoyalAir and
Northern Wings Helicopter in 1965. The increase in operations brought the introduction of the first jet aircraft, the
British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven, which were put into use on the
Montreal -
Toronto route in 1969.
Later years at
Wabush Airport in 1985. The company took over
Air Gaspé in 1973 and acquired more northern routes. In 1974 it bought two
Boeing 707s for charter work and also a
Boeing 727-100 aircraft for scheduled passenger service. It conducted charter flights to destinations in
Florida, the
Caribbean, Europe and
Hawaii. Charter flights were discontinued in 1979 and the 707s were sold off. According to the February 1976 and November 1979
Official Airline Guides (OAG), Quebecair operated the Boeing 727-100 jetliner in scheduled passenger operations between Montreal, Quebec City and other destinations in Quebec and
Newfoundland provinces. By 1981 the financial conditions at Quebecair had become difficult. All aircraft models except for the Fairchild F-27 turboprops and BAC One-Eleven jets were sold. This was a difficult time for Quebecair and other airlines. It did not introduce the
Boeing 737-200 until 1982 when the 737s began replacing the BAC One-Elevens. The 111's were gone by 1985. In 1984 Quebecair leased two
Douglas DC-8-63s for transatlantic charter flights, but these stretched Super DC-8s were not operated very long and merged with
Regionair. According to the October 1985 Quebecair timetable, the airline was operating scheduled passenger jet service on two international routes, being Montreal-Boston and Quebec City-New York City. 1985 was a very difficult year for Quebecair as the airline industry in Canada was restructuring. The financial situation at the carrier forced the Quebec government (which had owned the airline for several years) to sell the company to
CP Air in July 1986. In continuing consolidation involving several other Canadian air carriers,
Pacific Western Airlines notably purchased and took over CP Air, which then became
Canadian Airlines International in 1987. ==Destinations==