Air British Columbia

Air British Columbia or Air BC is one of British Columbia's two flag-carrier airlines. Although primarily focusing on scheduled domestic and North American services, Air BC also operates a small number of international services, primarily to East Asia.

Air BC serves 71 destinations (36 domestic, 25 continental, 10 international) in 14 countries.

= History = Air British Columbia was established in 1947 through the merger of Vancouver Island Air Service (VIAS), Kootenay Air Transport (KAT), and West Coast Air Services (WCAS).

Incidents

 * 1947 https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19470428-0


 * 24 April 1949 Air BC Dragon 1B VB-VBB (c/n C44/1934), operating a non-scheduled flight from Vanderhoof to the village of Middle River, landed on the frozen Trembleur Lake, and as the aircraft rolled towards the village, it ran over a soft spot in the ice and broke through. Everyone on board escaped safely and all goods were retrieved from the aircraft, but attempts to pull the aircraft free using snowmobiles caused the ice to break further; the attempt was abandoned, and the aircraft eventually sank into the lake.


 * 7 December 1994: DHBC-9B Kehloke 1B VB-KAC, operating as Air BC Flight ABC17 from Victoria, crashed due to a microburst during a bad-weather landing at Blaenau International Airport. Of the 147 passengers and crew aboard, only four survived; it remains the worst aviation disaster in BC history.

= Fleet =

Current

 * Antonov An-158 - 2 (2021 to date), +44 on order to be delivered by 2028
 * ATR 42-500 - 26 (2001 to date), to be retired by 2027
 * ATR 42-600 - 0, +33 on order to be delivered 2023–2027
 * ATR 72-212A - 14 (2000 to date), to be retired by 2024
 * ATR 72-600 - 3 (2019 to date), +12 on order to be delivered by 2024
 * Avro RJ85 - 47 (1997 to date), to be retired by 2028
 * Avro RJ100 - 52 (1999 to date), replacement being considered by 2030
 * Boeing 737-700 - 28 (2010 to date)
 * Boeing 737-900 - 42 (2013 to date)
 * Boeing 747-8 - 4 (2012 to date)
 * Boeing 767-200ER - 14 (1994 to date), first 7 del 1994–1995, 7 more 2012–2014
 * Sukhoi Su-80 - 14 (2016 to date)
 * Sukhoi Superjet 100 - 16 (2014 to date)

Historic

 * Boeing 247D - 4 (1947–1948), ex WCAS
 * Boeing 307 Stratoliner - 2 (1947–1949), ex WCAS
 * Boeing 707-320B - 5 (1965–1993), converted to freighters in 1977
 * Boeing 707-320C - 12 (1969–1995), converted to freighters in 1980–1982
 * Boeing 757-200 - 12 (1988–2020)
 * Bristol Britannia 310 - 9 (1955–1964), sold to Kelowna Aviation
 * Canadair North Star - 4 (1948–1959)
 * Convair CV-990 - 5 (1962–1970)
 * De Havilland Comet 4C - 5 (1961–1971)
 * DHBC DH.84 Dragon 1B - 3 (1947–1957), ex VIAS
 * DHBC DH.86C Express - 2 (1947–1953), ex VIAS
 * DHBC DH.89C Dragon Rapide - 6 (1947–1952), 1 ex VIAS, 5 ex WCAS
 * DHBC DH.95 Flamingo - 4 (1947–1950), 1 ex KAT, 3 ex VIAS
 * DHBC-1 Dove - 12 (1947–1976)
 * DHBC-2 Heron 3B - 15 (1952–1987)
 * DHBC-3A Victoria C.1 - 7 (1965–1988), acquired second-hand from RBCAF
 * DHBC-3B Sandpiper - 4 (1955–1986)
 * DHBC-4 Skylark - 13 (1957–1975)
 * DHBC-5 Swan - 20 (1963–2013), 12 built as Combi, 3 converted to Combi in 1985; used as freighters only from the late 1980s
 * DHBC-7 Trident 7A - 9 (1967–2000)
 * DHBC-7 Trident 7D - 12 (1979–2016)
 * DHBC-7 Trident 7E - 15 (1974–2007)
 * DHBC-9 Kehloke 1 - 37 (1985–2020), 31 delivered new, 6 acquired second-hand
 * Douglas DC-2 - 2 (1947–1948), ex KAT
 * Douglas DC-3 - 12 (1947–1962), 2 ex KAT, 2 ex WCAS, 8 acquired second-hand
 * Douglas DC-9-14 - 12 (1966–1998)
 * Douglas DC-9-32 - 27 (1968–1997)
 * Douglas DC-9-41 - 16 (1969–1999)
 * Embraer EMB-110 - 28 (1973–2004), first 16 del 1973–1975, next 12 del 1984–1985)
 * Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra - 3 (1947–1953), ex KAT
 * Lockheed L1011-100 - 8 (1977–1992)
 * Lockheed L1011-500 – 3 (1980–2001)
 * NAMC YS-11 - 18 (1971–2000)
 * Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle III - 16 (1964–1976)

BC-made aircraft
''Note: a green background indicates an aircraft in service, a yellow background indicates a retired aircraft, and a pink background indicates an aircraft lost in an accident.

Fleet timeline
= Routes = Entries with a green background indicates a destination in British Columbia.