Keewatin Air
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| Founded | 1998 | ||||||
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| Operating bases | Rankin Inlet Airport[1] | ||||||
| Secondary hubs | Churchill Airport, Iqaluit Airport, Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport[1] | ||||||
| Fleet size | 13[2] | ||||||
| Parent company | Exchange Income Corporation | ||||||
| Headquarters | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada[1] | ||||||
| Website | http://www.kivalliqair.com | ||||||
Keewatin Air (IATA: FK) is an airline that operates out of Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, Canada.[1] The airline was started by Frank Robert May (formerly a pilot for Lamb Air) and his wife Judy Saxby in 1971, in the Keewatin Region, then part of the Northwest Territories.[3]
Formed as "Keewatin Air Limited" they originally provided charter services to the region, being the first airline to have a permanent base in Nunavut (then known as the Keewatin Region of the Northwest Terriroties). In 1987 they expanded to include MEDEVAC ("medical evacuation") services, to what would become the Kivalliq Region, using a fleet of aircraft that began with a Tradewind aircraft - a multi-modified Beech 18 with a turbine engine and tricycle gear. This aircraft was followed by a Westwind, another modified Beech 18 with turbine engines and eventually these were replaced by Merlin IIA aircraft that had the added benefit of being pressurized as well as turboprops. The MEDEVAC service is now known as "Nunavut Lifeline".[4] Currently three Kingair 200 aircraft are based in Rankin Inlet, one in Churchill, Manitoba. and two in Iqaluit, where they also base a Lear 35 for the long hauls to Ottawa and a Pilatus PC-12 to access the short strips. They also operate two Beech 1900C aircraft. One out of Iqaluit and one out of Winnipeg.
In 1998 the company formed Kivalliq Air to provide scheduled air service within the Kivalliq Region and to Winnipeg and Churchill.[5] That service has since been cancelled.
In 2005 the company was sold to Exchange Industrial Income Fund (now Exchange Income Corporation), owners of Perimeter Aviation, Bearskin Airlines and Calm Air. May and Saxby continued to manage the airline for a short period after the sale.[6]
Destinations
Charter services are available to destinations throughout North America.[7]
Fleet
As of September 2014 the following aircraft are registered with Transport Canada[2] and listed at the Keewatin Air website:[8]
| Aircraft | No. of Aircraft | Variants | Idents | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beechcraft 1900 | 2 | 1900C | FJXL, FJXO | air charter[7] |
| Beechcraft Super King Air | 8 | King Air 200/B200 | FCGT, FRMV, FSKN, FSKO, FSKX, FZPW, GYGT, GYSR | MEDIVAC (air ambulance as Nunavut Lifeline),[9] air charter[7] |
| Bombardier Learjet 35 | 2 | 35A | GDJH, GYFB | MEDIVAC (air ambulance as Nunavut Lifeline)[9] |
| Pilatus PC-12 | 1 | PC-12/45 | GFLA | MEDIVAC (air ambulance as Nunavut Lifeline)[9] air charter[7] |
The Transport Canada website also shows a Beechcraft Model 18 3NM but with a cancelled certificate from 1999.[2]
References
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Keewatin Air. |