Skyservice
Encyclopedia
Skyservice Airlines Inc. was a charter airline (Skyservice Airlines) based in the Etobicoke
area of Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
. It employed more than 2000 people. Skyservice Airlines Inc. flew within Canada and to the U.S., Caribbean
, Mexico
, Israel
and Europe
. During the summer Skyservice sold tickets to Europe from Toronto using a Boeing 757-200WL. It also used an Airbus A330-300 for other chartered flights to Europe from Canada. Scheduled services to some destinations were offered during the summer season. Skyservice offered online-booking for those who wished to travel on Skyservice's scheduled destinations in the summer. Skyservice Airlines began operations in 1994.
Skyservice was forced into receivership
on March 31, 2010 as a result of a near $9 million debt to its long term partner Sunquest Vacations. As a result, Skyservice abruptly ceased operations. Roughly 860 jobs are expected to be lost as a result.
The airline was started in 1986. On May 2, 2005, Skyservice introduced the first of two Boeing 767-300
aircraft to its fleet, the first of which entered service on that date with a flight from Toronto
to Puerto Vallarta
. The aircraft (both formerly with MyTravel Airways
) operated summer charters from Toronto to the UK
and Europe
for Sunquest Vacations, and in the winter flew from Vancouver
to the Caribbean
and Mexico
. It is one of the few discount airlines operating in Canada which still offers full meal service.
On August 28, 2007, it was announced that Skyservice sold a majority interest in its airlines business to Vancouver-based private equity company Gibralt Capital Corp. No changes in senior management, operations or staffing levels were planned.
In March 2009, Skyservice partnered with Inflite Media to offer tray table advertising across their fleet of aircraft, the first such advertising network available in Canada.
Skyservice was forced into receivership on March 31, 2010 as a result of an $8.8 million debt to its long term partner Sunquest Vacations. The last Skyservice flight, from Punta Cana
to Winnipeg, took place on the same day.
Etobicoke, Ontario
Etobicoke is a dissolved municipality located within the current city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the western section of the current city, it had an official population of 338,117 as measured by the 2001 Census and 334,491 people as of the 2006 Census. While it only contains 13% of...
area of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It employed more than 2000 people. Skyservice Airlines Inc. flew within Canada and to the U.S., Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. During the summer Skyservice sold tickets to Europe from Toronto using a Boeing 757-200WL. It also used an Airbus A330-300 for other chartered flights to Europe from Canada. Scheduled services to some destinations were offered during the summer season. Skyservice offered online-booking for those who wished to travel on Skyservice's scheduled destinations in the summer. Skyservice Airlines began operations in 1994.
Skyservice was forced into receivership
Receivership
In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...
on March 31, 2010 as a result of a near $9 million debt to its long term partner Sunquest Vacations. As a result, Skyservice abruptly ceased operations. Roughly 860 jobs are expected to be lost as a result.
History
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
aircraft to its fleet, the first of which entered service on that date with a flight from Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
to Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta is a Mexican balneario resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas.The 2010 census reported Puerto Vallarta's population as 255,725 making it the sixth-largest city in the state of Jalisco...
. The aircraft (both formerly with MyTravel Airways
MyTravel Airways
MyTravel Airways was a United Kingdom scheduled and charter airline with headquarters in Manchester, England. It operated worldwide holiday charter services mainly for its parent company, the MyTravel Group....
) operated summer charters from Toronto to the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
for Sunquest Vacations, and in the winter flew from Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
to the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. It is one of the few discount airlines operating in Canada which still offers full meal service.
On August 28, 2007, it was announced that Skyservice sold a majority interest in its airlines business to Vancouver-based private equity company Gibralt Capital Corp. No changes in senior management, operations or staffing levels were planned.
In March 2009, Skyservice partnered with Inflite Media to offer tray table advertising across their fleet of aircraft, the first such advertising network available in Canada.
Skyservice was forced into receivership on March 31, 2010 as a result of an $8.8 million debt to its long term partner Sunquest Vacations. The last Skyservice flight, from Punta Cana
Punta Cana International Airport
Punta Cana International Airport is a privately owned commercial airport in Punta Cana, eastern Dominican Republic. The airport is built in a traditional Dominican style with open-air terminals with their roofs covered in palm fronds. built the Punta Cana International Airport in 1984. A number...
to Winnipeg, took place on the same day.
Fleet
The Skyservice fleet consisted of the following aircraft on 20 November 2009:| Aircraft | Total | Passengers (Class Superiore/Star Class/Economy) |
Registrations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A320-200 | 11 | 180 (0/0/180) | C-GTDP, C-GTDH, C-FZAZ, C-FRAA | Used on North/South American flights. |
| Boeing 757-200 | 10 | 233 (0/0/233) 197 (0/36/161) C-GMYH |
C-GTSJ, C-GTBB, C-GMYH, C-FLOX, C-FFAN | 2 aircraft are equipped with winglets. These are: C-GMYH & C-GTBB. These are used on North/South American and European flights. C-FLOX is leased to Arkefly Arkefly ArkeFly is a Dutch charter airline headquartered in Schiphol-Rijk on the grounds of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands. It is the charter carrier of the Dutch arm of the German travel conglomerate TUI and its main base is Schiphol Airport... for the summer. |
| Total | 21 |