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Bearskin Airlines
photos: Air inuit - Marc Lajeunesse; bearskin airlines
Playing on its proximity to the North Pole, the airline often runs contests near Christmastime, including the digital Reindeer Radar Holiday Contest.
“Deflectors at the nose of the airplane and pressurization in front of the engines stop small rocks from being ingested. There is also a special coating on the belly of the jet. We also have some Dash-8 300s (aircraft designed for extremely short takeoffs and landings), which we engineered together with Bombardier to have 45 seats instead of 50 – so they can carry up to 4,000 pounds of cargo.” Twin Otters (which can be equipped with skis and floats) and King Air 100s serve shorter routes and smaller communities with shorter airstrips, and Air Inuit is currently working with Bombardier to customize a new Dash-8 with an oversized cargo door to transport large items like snowmobiles and prefab structures. Despite operating in an isolated region, Air Inuit continually strives for excellence in safety and service. The airline has sleek and comfortable cabin interiors, its own magazine, a modern web portal and a beautiful livery design (the orange and white interlacing geese have won several design accolades). Air Inuit caters longer flights with full hot meals from Culinair’s Montreal kitchen and serves bannock, a regional staple food, on many shorter legs. The airline is currently evaluating how to bring streaming in-flight entertainment (IFE) onto its aircraft.
Airline Passenger Experience Association
Similar to Air Inuit in Quebec, Bearskin Airlines was established in Northern Ontario in 1963 to make remote settlements more accessible. Bush pilot and founder Otto John Hegland also had a general store near Bearskin Lake (hence the name) and needed a way to keep it stocked with fresh groceries from the south. Bearskin has since grown from a Tiger Moth biplane operation to a small yet sophisticated airline. It benefits from the operational efficiency of a full fleet of 19-seater, twin-turboprop Fairchild Swearingen Metroliners. The airline has 12 destinations, with routes taking passengers as far east as Winnipeg, Manitoba, as far north as Red Lake, Ontario, and as far south as North Bay – which is a three-and-ahalf-hour drive from Toronto. “Bearskin Airlines plays a key role in serving the business community in smaller Northern Ontario centers, connecting these remote cities to the world by our Thunder Bay and Winnipeg hubs,” says Ron Hell, Bearskin’s director of Marketing and Sales. “We offer interline e-ticketing with Air Canada and Delta Air Lines, and distribute our schedules and fares through all the major global reservation systems.” The Metroliner is not really set up for elaborate catering or other onboard services (like lavatories), but according to Hell, there is one big perk for those who fly with Bearskin: “With our two-row, center-aisle configuration, everybody gets a window and an aisle seat!”
“Let the Bear take you there!”
volume 6, edition 1
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