Air Mikisew
 | |||||||
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| Founded | 1960 (as Contact Airways) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceased operations | 2011 | ||||||
| Hubs | Fort McMurray Airport | ||||||
| Focus cities |
Edmonton City Centre (Blatchford Field) Airport Fort Chipewyan Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 10 | ||||||
| Destinations | 3 | ||||||
| Parent company | Air Mikisew Ltd. | ||||||
| Headquarters | Fort McMurray, Alberta | ||||||
| Key people | Graham Davis (General & Operations Manager), Tom Tays (Chief Pilot) | ||||||
Air Mikisew was an airline based in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. It operated scheduled passenger services in the Fort McMurray/Fort Chipewyan region. Its main base was the Fort McMurray Airport.[1] Mikisew is the Cree word for eagle.
History
The airline was established as Contact Airways in 1960 with a Class 4C operating license, based in Fort McMurray.[2] It was sold in the 1960s and later became wholly owned by the Mikisew Cree First Nation in 1995. It had 63 employees as of at March 2007.[1] It was awarded the Fort McMurray Business of the Year award in 2005.[3] The airline was grounded in 2010 and permanently closed by 2011.[4]
Destinations
Air Mikisew provided scheduled flights between Fort Chipewyan, Fort McMurray, and Edmonton.[5] It also provided aero-medical flights for the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo area and charter flights throughout western Canada.
Fleet
As of June 2010, the Air Mikisew fleet consisted of the following aircraft until its audit by Transport Canada:[1]
- two British Aerospace Jetstream 31 (one Executive and one Commuter configuration);
- one Raytheon Beech 1900D;
- one Raytheon Beech B99;
- one Raytheon Beech King Air B200 Medevac;
- one Cessna 208 Caravan (Amphibious in the summer);
- two Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftains;
- one Cessna 207;
- one Cessna 206; and
- one Cessna 185 (on floats).
References
- 1 2 3 "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-03-27. p. 63.
- ↑ McDougall, Margaret: Tar on the Floats, Prince George BC, Canada, 2005. Page 90. ISBN 0-9738666-0-8
- ↑ Fort McMurray Chamber of Commerce Wall of Fame Alumni
- ↑ http://srj.ca/mikisew-restarting-fort-chipewyan-flights-p6548-74.htm
- ↑ (Schedule) Air Mikisw website - schedule
