Bearskin Airlines
| Bearskin Airlines | |
|---|---|
|
|
| IATA code : | JV |
| ICAO code : | BLS |
| Call sign : | BEARSKIN |
| Founding: | 1963 |
| Seat: |
Sioux Lookout , Canada
|
| Turnstile : | |
| Fleet size: | 16 |
| Aims: | 17th |
| Website: | www.bearskinairlines.com |
Bearskin Lake Air Services Ltd ( Bearskin Airlines ) is a regional airline based in Sioux Lookout , Canada . It operates scheduled flights in Northern Ontario and Manitoba . The main bases are Sioux Lookout and Thunder Bay with a Greater Sudbury hub .
history
Bearskin Airlines was founded on July 17th, 1963 by John Heglund. The company was named after Bearskin Lake , a native community, 430 km northeast of Sioux Lookout.
In 1965 Henri Boulanger and Bert Cone took over the company and continued to operate it as an air taxi company with seaplanes. In 1972 Harvey Friesen, a pilot in the company, took over Boulanger's 50 percent stake.
1977 saw the launch of the first airline to connect Big Trout Lake and Sioux Lookout. In 1978 the base in Sioux Lookout was established and a second route was added between Sioux Lookout and Thunder Bay. Harvey Friesen's brother, Cliff Friesen, who joined the company in 1978, established the second base in Thunder Bay.
In the late 1970s and early 1990s, the Ontario provincial government pushed for the construction of airfields in Aboriginal towns. Bearskin benefited from this development and expanded its line network with the help of rolling machines .
Bearskin expanded its route network in northern Ontario and offered feeder flights for Air Canada in Thunderbay and Winnipeg . With the newly acquired Fairchild Metroliners , the line network was expanded to include northeastern Ontario and northern Manitoba by 1999. In 2003 Bearskin expanded its route network to 40 destinations.
In early 2003, Bearskin sold its northern lines to 21 Native American locations to Wasaya Airways . Wasaya is owned by Native American communities in northern Ontario.
In 2007 the liner services to Ottawa and Waterloo , with Kitchener , Waterloo , Cambridge and Guelph were expanded. Today Bearskin flies more than a hundred flights a day to 17 destinations in Ontario and Manitoba.
Destinations
Ontario
Dryden , Fort Frances , Kapuskasing , Kenora , Waterloo Region , North Bay , Ottawa , Red Lake , Sault Ste. Marie , Sioux Lookout, Thunder Bay , Timmins , Kitchener .
Manitoba
Flin Flon , Lynn Lake , The Pas , Winnipeg .
fleet
As of July 2013, the Bearskin Airlines fleet consists of 17 aircraft:
Incidents
- On May 1, 1995, a Fairchild Swearingen Metro 23 ( aircraft registration number C-GYYB ) collided with a Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain ( C-GYPZ ) of Air Sandy on the flight from Red Lake (Ontario) to Sioux Lookout , which had just started in the opposite direction. All three occupants of the metro and the five of the Navajo were killed (see also aircraft collision at Sioux Lookout ) .
- On November 10, 2013, a Fairchild Swearingen Metro III ( C-FFZN ) crashed on the flight from Sioux Lookout to Red Lake (Ontario) on approach. An engine failure coupled with a malfunction of the propeller adjustment led to a loss of control at low altitude. The accident claimed five deaths; two passengers survived.
See also
Web links
- Bearskin Airlines website (English, French)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Transport Canada - Official Aircraft Register ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) accessed on July 2, 2013
- ^ Accident report C-GYYB, Aviation Safety Network (English) , accessed on January 22, 2016.
- ^ Accident report C-FFZN, Aviation Safety Network (English) , accessed on January 22, 2016.
- ^ Aerotelegraph.com , accessed on November 11, 2013
