Canadian Metro Airlines
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. (Consider using more specific cleanup instructions.) Please help improve this article if you can. The talk page may contain suggestions. (August 2011) |
Canadian Metro Airlines (CMA) was the name of 2 airlines of Canada.[1]
[edit] History
The first CMA started operations in the summer of 1938 with 3 Noorduyn Norseman flying in regional flights around Canadian atlantic coast.[2][3] In June 1939, expanded their fleet with 2 Douglas DC-3. At the breakout of WW2, CMA operated flights for RCAF transporting troops to Vancouver for embark them in the transport ships who gone to Europe. From February 1942, CMA transported troops from Ontario to Indonesia, Ceylon, Philippines and Australia.[4] At the end of war in Europe in May 1945, CMA operated flights to UK until July 20, when the airline transported troops to Australia, Philippines, Saipan and Burma for the planned invasion of Japan. When the Pacific War ended in September 8, CMA returned to flight to UK. From October 1945, CMA operated repatriation flights between Europe, the Pacific and Vancouver until April 1946, when returned to the commercial service, and in august of same year, acquired 3 DC-4´s to USAAF for complement the DC-3 in long-haul flights. CMA started flights to United States in July 1947, to France in April 1948 and to Italy in February 1949.[5] In October 1951, CMA used 2 DC-3 and 1 DC-4 for transport troops to Australia for combat in the Korean War and started the repatriation flights between 1955 and 1957. CMA reintegrated fully in commercial flights in October 1958, when increased their frequency of flights. CMA started charter service in 1962, flying to United States, and 2 years later, introduced the vacation flights packs. The airline´s regional routes raised in 1968, with connections flights with Toronto, Ontario, and New York; in 1970, CMA tried to establish a regional service agree with American Airlines, but did never happened. From 1972 CMA retired the DC-3 and DC-4 in 1964 and replaced with Convair 640.[6] Finally, in 1975, CMA was absorbed by Air Fecteau.
The second CMA started operations in 2002.[7] Their initial fleet were Fokker F27 and Beech 1900 aircrafts.[8] The next year, the fleet of the airline increased with BAe 146, Do-328, Jetstream 31 and Fokker F.28 aircraft; the destinations was primary in the center of Canada and Newfoundland Island. By mid-2005, the F.27, Jetstreams and F.28 were replaced by DHC-8-100 and the next year, the BAe-146 and Do-328 were returned to the lessor.[9] From December 2006, CMA introduced the stretched version of Dash 8, the DHC-8-300.[10] In 2007 march, Transport Canada founded several failures in the CMA aircraft, but that not were a significant problem; Transport Canada to CMA a demonstration flight in one of the DHC´s; however, when the plane take-off, a pneumatic failure caused this to capsize, out of control and burn. Moments later, the ruptured kerosene tank commenced to burn and the plane blown up; Transport Canada suspended the CMA´s license until August 6, when the airline re-started flights; but in that moment, a Beech 1900, which flew on the Canadian east coast, had a sustentation flight problem during the flight and fall in mid of the Atlantic, sinking in a depth of 600 m.; all the 20 passengers and the 4 crew sank with the aircraft; Transport Canada revoked definitive the CMA license´s: the order took effect the morning of August 16.[11] The CMA aircraft were left exposed in Vancouver Airport from August 24 and were acquired by Gabon Air Service in November 27; however, the airline not was official dissolved and still had 60 employees (pilots, ground personnel and aboard crew). CMA stopped to pay to their personnel in February 16, 2009 and were dissolved 2 months later[12]
