Time Air began with "Stubb" Ross flying the aircraft and picking up passengers from their Lethbridge homes. The airline was initially based at the
Lethbridge Airport. Time Air quickly filled a void that was left in southern Alberta when
Air Canada ceased flying
Vickers Viscount turboprop service from Lethbridge nonstop to Calgary and directly to Edmonton in the early 1970s. Over the next 20 years Time Air's fleet progressed from the 20-passenger
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, to the 30-passenger
Short 330. Time Air was the first airline to operate the Short 330 (known as the "Flying Boxcar" for their boxy shape) The airline also operated
Fairchild F-27 turboprops. The next addition was the 50-passenger
de Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7 before standardising with the
Bombardier DHC-8 Dash 8. It received the first stretched Dash 8 Series 300 aircraft in the world on February 27, 1989. The 36-passenger
Short 360 was introduced next for shorthaul flying in British Columbia, primarily between Vancouver and Victoria. The airline acquired a number of other scheduled carriers, most notably Calgary-based
Southern Frontier Airlines and Saskatoon-based
Norcanair. As a result, Time Air briefly operated other aircraft types, including a number of
Convair CV- 580 and
Convair CV-640 turboprops. Time Air also flew
Fokker F28 Fellowship twin jet aircraft. F28 jet operations were very successful, leading the airline to acquire a number of additional aircraft, eventually becoming the world's largest operator of the type at the time. By 1999,
Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner commuter propjets as well as F28 jets and Dash 8 turboprops were being operated on Canadian Regional
code share flights into Calgary.
Canadian Airlines International (formed when
Pacific Western Airlines took over
CP Air) acquired a minority interest in Time Air in the late 1980s and acquired 100% ownership in January 1991. At the same time Canadian Airlines International created a holding company called
Canadian Regional Airlines to manage its investments in Time Air and other regional carriers (which included
Ontario Express and
Inter-Canadien). In April 1993 Canadian Regional Airlines branded the operations of Time Air and Ontario Express as "
Canadian Regional Airlines" with both airlines using Canadian Airlines International two letter "CP" code for their flight numbers via a
code sharing arrangement. In 1995, Time Air was operating
Canadian Airlines Partner code share passenger feed service. Time Air and Ontario Express were legally amalgamated in July 1998, using Time Air's air operator certificate. By then Inter-Canadien had become a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian Regional Airlines, although it continued to operate as a separate brand. Canadian Regional Airlines was merged into
Air Canada Jazz in 2001, following Air Canada's acquisition of Canadian Airlines International. ==Destinations in 1970==