Commenced operations 1979 Founded 1979 | Headquarters Oshawa Ceased operations 1994 | |
Operating bases Fleet size Cessna 150
Cessna 172
Cessna 402
Piper Cheyenne
Beech 18
Embraer 110 Bandeirante
Shorts 330
DC-3 | ||
Skycraft Air Transport Inc. was a Canadian airline based at Oshawa Municipal Airport in Oshawa, Ontario, that operated between 1979 and 1994.
Contents
History
Skycraft Air Transport was created as a charter airline targeting the express air freight needs of the North American automotive industry. It was based in Oshawa, Ontario, where its biggest customer, General Motors Canada, operated two large car assembly plants. Its principal competitive advantages were its diverse fleet, with different aircraft that could economically carry different sized loads, and its ability to dispatch aircraft to virtually any North American destination within one hour of a customer request.
By the late 1980s the airline was operating a flying school and had diversified into the air ambulance, passenger charter and scheduled service markets. Its fleet ranged from the Cessna 150 and 172 through the Cessna 402, Piper PA-42 Cheyenne and Beechcraft Model 18 to the Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante, Short 330 and Douglas DC-3. Its scheduled services included flights from Oshawa Municipal Airport to Ottawa; Montreal; Windsor, Ontario; and Detroit.
The airline was notable for changing the type of aircraft operated on its passenger services to match the number of passengers booked for each flight.
Skycraft's colour scheme consisted of having the lower part of the fuselage painted in white or silver, the middle part painted with the red title of 'Skycraft', and the tail painted in white or silver, with a large letter 'S' in red and the Canadian flag.
Skycraft filed for court protection in 1992. It subsequently obtained new financing and continued operations with a reduced fleet, but the new business plan was not successful. The airline finally shut down operations in February 1994.