Soundair

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Soundair was a Canadian freight airline based in Mississauga, Ontario. It operated under the name Soundair Express and used the ICAO designator SDR with the call sign SOUNDAIR. The company began in 1973 as Owen Sound Air Services, a flying school and charter operator.

Over the years, Owen Sound Air Services grew by carrying cargo for Purolator, Airborne Express, and Emery, using Douglas DC-3 aircraft. In 1984, Soundair Corp. was created as the parent company and it bought Aero Trades Western, along with its DC-3s and DC-4s. That same year, Soundair also started two new airlines: Commuter Express (to serve Toronto) and Odyssey International (a leisure carrier).

By 1986, the fleet had changed: the DC-4s were replaced with Convair CV-580s and the DC-3s with Fokker F27s. In 1988, Commuter Express became an Air Canada Connector and was renamed Air Toronto. Odyssey International was founded as a leisure airline, and its cargo flights were rebranded as Soundair Express.

In 1990, Soundair entered receivership due to financial problems. Odyssey and Soundair Express ceased operations in April 1990; Odyssey was bought by Nation Air and Soundair Express was bought by Canair Cargo. In 1991, Air Toronto was purchased by Ontario Express (Air Ontario).

Fleet and subsidiaries
- Soundair fleet (as of receivership): Dassault Falcon 2000 (2) and Douglas DC-8 (1).
- Historic fleet included: DC-4 (3), DC-3 (5), and Piper PA-31T Cheyenne (1).
- Subsidiaries’ fleets included Air Toronto aircraft (Swearingen Merlin IV/Metro, Jetstream 31, Convair 340/440/580/640, Fairchild F-27) and Odyssey International aircraft (Boeing 757, Boeing 737-200/300).

Soundair was the parent company of Air Toronto and Odyssey International, both of which stopped operating after the company’s receivership.