Air North, Yukon's Airline Provides Northerners with a Direct Link to Ottawa

WHITEHORSE AND OTTAWA, Feb. 6, 2014 /CNW/ - Air North, Yukon's Airline is pleased to announce the launch of its new service linking Yukon's capital, Whitehorse, to the Northwest Territories' capital, Yellowknife, and to the Nation's capital, Ottawa. The first flight is scheduled to arrive in Ottawa at 5:00 pm on February 6, 2014.

"This is an exciting step for Yukon's Airline, one which builds on the success achieved through the establishment of a transportation hub in the north," said Air North President Joe Sparling. "Our focus is to be the number one provider of air transportation in this market. Our new service will bring at least ten new permanent full time jobs to the Yukon and will ensure that dollars spent for travel to and from eastern Canada remain in the north, or flow into the north."

"We are extremely pleased to welcome a new airline to Ottawa, as Air North commences this important route between Canada's Capital and both Yellowknife and Whitehorse," said Mark Laroche, President and CEO of Ottawa International Airport Authority. "This new connection solidifies Ottawa's role as a critical economic gateway for Canada's North, and we are certain it will be well supported by both business and leisure travellers."

"We're helping to grow the northern economy and providing a host of different opportunities - not to mention saving time and money for our passengers," said Allan Moore, Air North's Chief Operating Officer. "This new service will be good for all northerners, and for those federal travellers looking for efficiency in travel. We are working closely with other northern air carriers in order that they may participate in this venture through code share and/or interline agreements. We are also working with Canada's mainline air carriers in order to seamlessly link northern route networks with mainline route networks."

Vuntut Gwitchin Limited Partnership (VGLP), and the Vuntut Gwitchin Government, a self-governing Yukon First Nation, invested in the airline more than 12 years ago. VGLP President Pauline Frost states that "Our original investment has grown exponentially. We are extremely pleased that Yukon's airline has grown from a small local carrier to one that serves our nation's capital, providing northerners with an important connection to Yellowknife and Ottawa."

"Congratulations Air North for making travel to and from the North more accessible than ever before," Yukon Deputy Premier Elaine Taylor said. "This connection between capital cities will provide visitors new opportunities to explore and new options for business investment."

The new service will operate twice weekly and is expected to create new opportunities for business and leisure travel between Ottawa and the territorial capitals.

About Air North, Yukon's Airline

Air North, Yukon's Airline - founded in 1977 - has won praise for its authentic Yukon hospitality from travellers around the globe. In just over ten years the airline has flown more than a million passengers on its Boeing 737 fleet between Whitehorse, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton - and this year added flights between Whitehorse and Kelowna, as well as Yellowknife and Ottawa. Air North serves scheduled destinations in the Yukon and Northwest Territories, seasonal flights to Alaska, and offers charter services throughout North America (excluding Hawaii). One in fifteen Yukoners, including the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, hold an equity or employment stake in Air North, Yukon's Airline.

Visit flyairnorth.com or mappingtheway.ca for more information about the airline.

SOURCE: Air North, Yukon's Airline

Pauline Frost
Director and President
Vuntut Gwitchin Limited Partnership
Phone: [phone]
Email: [email protected]

Allan Moore
Chief Operating Officer
Air North, Yukon's Airline
Phone: [phone]
Email: [email protected]

Krista Kealey
Vice-President, Communications and Public Affairs
Ottawa International Airport Authority
Phone: [phone]
Email: [email protected]