note
Scheduled passenger and cargo airline specializing in connecting communities of Canada's vast north with gateways of Ottawa, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Montreal. In 2010 company carried over 225 thousand passengers and 22 million kilograms of cargo. Company was founded in 1946 by Russell Bradley as Bradley Air Service in Ottawa. Company at first provided utility charter flights to the Canada's north. In 1973 Bradley Air Services set up First Air as its scheduled subsidiary and started operations between Ottawa, North Bay and Sudbury. In 1986, first pure jet joins the fleet when a Boeing 727-100 is purchased. First Air is since 1990 a wholly-owned subsidiary of Makivik Corporation which was set up in 1978 to administer land settlements signed between Canada and aboriginal Inuit population of Northern Quebec (Nunavik) in 1975. First Air participates in Air Canada's Aeroplan frequent flyer program. The owners of First Air and Canadian North explored a merger from April 2014, but talks broke off six months later. Nonetheless, a definitive agreement to merge was reached on September 18, 2018. The two airlines' schedules were combined as Canadian North (code 5T) on November 1, 2019. In May 2021, the operating certificates of the two airlines were combined.
founded - demised (age)
1973 - present (52years)
headquarters
20 Cope Dr., Kanata, Ontario
web
base airports
related operators
current /stored fleet (34)
