Odyssey International
Encyclopedia
Air charter
Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft as opposed to individual aircraft seats...
airline based in Toronto, Canada.
History
Odyssey International can trace its origins to Owen Sound Air Services (OSAS) founded in 1973 as a flying school and charter airline. Over the years OSAS grew by flying cargo for PurolatorPurolator
Purolator may refer to:* Purolator Courier, a Canadian courier company* Purolator Filters, a joint venture of Bosch and Mann-Hummel, which distributes the Purolator brand of automotive filtration products...
and also using Douglas DC-3
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
for Airborne Express
Airborne Express
Airborne Express was an express delivery company and cargo airline. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, its hub was at Wilmington, Ohio.Airborne was founded as the Airborne Flower Traffic Association of California in 1946 to fly flowers from the state of Hawaii to US Mainland.Airborne Express...
ad Emery. In 1984 OSAS was taken over by Soundair (who remained the parent company throughout the years). Soundair also took over Aero Trades Western and used the DC-3s and also Douglas DC-4
Douglas DC-4
The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role...
. Two years later Convair CV-580 replaced the DC-4s and also the DC-3s were disposed of in favor of the Fokker F27 Friendship
Fokker F27
The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker.-Design and development:Design of the Fokker F27 started in the 1950s as a replacement to the successful Douglas DC-3 airliner...
.
Soundair expanded operations by starting Commuter Express for scheduled commuter flights using Fairchild Metros
Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner
The Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner or the Fairchild Aerospace Metro is a 19-seat, pressurised, twin turboprop airliner first produced by Swearingen Aircraft and later by Fairchild at a plant in San Antonio, Texas, United States....
. With a contract to feed Air Canada
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and largest airline of Canada. The airline, founded in 1936, provides scheduled and charter air transport for passengers and cargo to 178 destinations worldwide. It is the world's tenth largest passenger airline by number of destinations, and the airline is a...
at Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport serving Toronto, Ontario, Canada; its metropolitan area; and the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration that is home to 8.1 million people – approximately 25% of Canada's population...
the name was changed to Air Toronto and the Metros were replaced with Jetstream 31 aircraft. It was then in June 1988 that Odyssey International was founded as the third company under Soundair. Flights began using Boeing 757-28A
Boeing 757
The Boeing 757 is a mid-size, narrow-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Passenger versions of the twinjet have a capacity of 186 to 289 persons and a maximum range of , depending on variant and cabin configuration...
between Toronto and Las Vegas
McCarran International Airport
McCarran International Airport is the principal commercial airport serving Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada, United States. The airport is located five miles south of the central business district of Las Vegas, in the unincorporated area of Paradise in Clark County. It covers an area of and...
. Odyssey used the 757s to operate to winter seasonal destinations in the Caribbean and for the summer season Leeds Bradford International Airport
Leeds Bradford International Airport
Leeds Bradford International Airport is located at Yeadon, in the City of Leeds Metropolitan District in West Yorkshire, England, northwest of Leeds city centre itself...
and Newcastle
Newcastle Airport
Newcastle International Airport is located in Woolsington in the City of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, north-west of the city centre. In 2010 it was the 11th busiest airport in the United Kingdom....
in England were served. Although a charter airline, Odyssey International provided high standards on their transatlantic service, for example they provided high quality crockery and cutlery for their passengers.
In order to serve smaller markets, two Boeing 737-3S3
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
were leased. But by late 1989 with an economic recession and the reduction in bookings at Air Toronto and Odyssey, Soundair found itself in difficult financial situation and operations for all three subsidiaries were shut down on April 1990.
The Odyssey name, aircraft and some employees were merged with Nationair, and operated as a separate division of Nolisair
Nolisair
Nolisair was a Canadian company, the parent company of Nationair, a Canadian airline, and of Technair, an aircraft maintenance company...
for a short period of time. Within several months, the Odyssey livery and all references to Odyssey were dropped and employees uniforms changed to those of Nationair, which went bankrupt in 1993.