Air Alma
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| Founded | 1959 | ||||||
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Ceased operations | January 29, 2002 | ||||||
| Hubs | Alma | ||||||
| Subsidiaries | Air Quebec Metro, C.M.T.A INC. | ||||||
| Fleet size | Various | ||||||
| Destinations | Various | ||||||
| Headquarters | Head Office: 693 SacreCoeur Est, CP 577, Alma,
Quebec, Canada G8B 5W1.
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| Key people | Roland Simard, Roger Filion | ||||||
| Employees | 15 (2002) | ||||||
| Website | https://web.archive.org/web/19991115070735/http://www.airalma.com/ | ||||||
Air Alma was a Canadian-based airline that existed from 1959 to 2002. In 1980, Alma Air Services was renamed to Air Alma. Air Alma was based out of Alma, Quebec.[1] Air Alma operated aircraft like the EMB 110. As a smaller airline it is less documented but was a Canadian Airlines partner. It was the official carrier of the 35th edition of the Quebec summer games. One contributing factor to Air Alma's demise was Air Creebec as Alma struggled to keep Air Creebec out of Alma.
History
[edit]Air Alma was founded in 1959 as Metrolitan Air Services and was renamed to Alma Air services in 1960. In 1980 Alma Air Services was renamed to Air Alma.[1] Alma Air Services operated aircraft like the Fairchild hiller FH-1100 in 1979.[2]
In the early 1980s the company had 52 employees and Roland Simard as its president, with a fleet consisting of two Cessna 404s and operated charters and Air Ambulance services.[3] In 1989 it was reported that following an interline agreement being signed by Air Alma and Air Canada the carrier operated Ottawa-Toronto route which first flew on March 1.[4] Later that same year a Learjet 24 was procured by Air Alma.[5]
In 1990 a brief subsidiary called Air Quebec Metro was formed which ceased operations the same year. In 1994 Air Alma denied the disciplinary action but later suspended that same pilot.[6] In 1995 the 35th addition of the Quebec Summer games were held in Alma which made Air Alma the official carrier for the Quebec Summer games.
In 2000 Air Alma had a dispute with Air Creebec over landing slots in Alma, this was because the Montreal-Alma route was the core of Air Alma's business and the mayor of Alma refused to let Air Creebec gain slots at Alma.[7] In 2001 Air Alma partner Canadian Airlines ceased operations and merged into Air Canada so Air Canada had to figure out what to do with the Canadian Regional affiliates into its network.[7] The Alma mayor also boycotted Air Canada since Air Creebec was an Air Canada affiliate.[7] The airline in 2001 after 9/11 saw a 50% passenger number decrease and 60 employees being laid off. On January 9, 2002 the Alma-Montreal route was terminated.[8] In the end Air Alma ceased to exist in 2002 ending 43 years of aviation history.
Fleet
[edit]Destinations
[edit]
Air Alma operated services to
Canada
[edit]Partners
[edit]
Air Alma was a partner of Canadian Airlines until 2001 when Canadian ceased operations. The airline also had an interline agreement with Air Canada on the Toronto-Montreal route.[4] The airline was the 1995 Quebec Summer Games official partner.
Accident
[edit]On July 4, 1995 a Bell 206 crashed after losing power. The Bell 206 registered as C-GLBA was the Bell 206 involved. All occupants survived[9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 "Air Alma history from Canada, Americas".
- 1 2 Air-Britain. "Aviation photographs of Operator: Air Alma Ltd. :". abpic.co.uk. Retrieved 2026-02-01.
- ↑ "1981 | 3488 | Flight Archive". www.flightglobal.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2026-02-11.
- 1 2 3 4 Télécharger le PDF - Publicité.
- 1 2 Télécharger le PDF - Publicité.
- ↑ 31761117665794. Robarts - University of Toronto.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - 1 2 3 4 Nation [Cree] 7.12 (2000 May 5).
- ↑ "Air Alma is ceasing its Montreal-Alma route".
- 1 2 "AVIATION OCCURRENCE REPORT LOSS OF POWER AIR ALMA INC. BELL 206L-1 LONGRANGER (HELICOPTER) C-GLBA FONTANGE, QUEBEC 1 mi W 04 JULY 1995 REPORT NUMBER A95Q0118" (PDF). Transport Canada.
- 1 2 "YUL89intro". www.departedflights.com. Retrieved 2026-01-27.
- 1 2 3 "Air Alma / Schedules and reservations". www.airalma.com. Archived from the original on 2000-01-09. Retrieved 2026-03-07.