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| Founded | 1985 | ||||||
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| Ceased operations | 2007 | ||||||
| Operating bases | Toronto Pearson International Airport | ||||||
| Founder | Dennis Chadala | ||||||
Air 500 Limited was aCanadian airline.[1][2]
The airline was founded in 1985 by Dennis Chadala, a formercaptain,director of marketing, and assistant to Carl Millard, owner of the defunct airlineMillardair. The company commenced operations with oneSuper Beech 18 Model E purchased from Bradley First Air.
Air 500 Limited was the first airline to receive a licensing andoperating certificate at Toronto'sPearson International Airport following the deregulation of theaviation industry in Canada in 1985. The airline originally grew rapidly, adding an aircraft at a rate of one every six months. By 1989 it had acquired almost all of the business flying ad hoccharter out of Toronto for Chrysler, Ford, GM, and many others formerly serviced by Millardair. At the time, Air 500 was an exceptional success story, operating 3 Super Beech 18 aircraft, 2Cessna 310s, 1 DC3, 1 Super DC (C117), 1Piper Cheyenne, and 1MitsubishiMitsubishi MU-2 Marquise.
In the early 1990s, Air 500's fleet continued to grow. adding 2 moreMitsubishi MU-2 aircraft, 2Citation 500business jets, and 1 Citation 2 business jet. In 1995, Pearson airport was privatized, and came under the direction and control of the GTAA (Greater Toronto Airport Authority). At the same time, Chadala acquiredHangar #7, the newest hangar facility at Pearson Airport, with 40 years remaining on its then-currentland lease.
Air 500 had contracts in thecourier industry,Air Ambulance, Services, and Aircraft Management, as well as abase of operations at the Esso Avitat in Ottawa, where 2 Mitsubishi Marquise MU2 aircraft were stationed. One was operating an exclusive long-term contract forNordion (formerly Atomic Energy of Canada) flyingradioactive isotopes to numerous destinations in the United States formedical purposes, while the other was a designated charter aircraft. Hangar #7 was large enough to lease out half the facility to Air 500 Limited and the other half to Execaire/Innotech Aviation; they remained tenants of the hangar until November 1998.
After theirtenancy, Execaire/Innotech struck a deal with Chadala to purchase the hangar, all his aircraft, and Air 500 Limited itself. Air 500 was melded into Execaire, and became part of that operating group, taking advantage of thesynergies available to it.
