Page 6 - Volume 12 Number 4

Air Inuit – founded and fully owned by the Inuit through Makivik Corporation – began operations in 1978 to bring air service to a region that had been mostly inaccessible. They started with one single-engine De Havilland Beaver aircraft and today operate 31 aircraft, including four Beechcraft King Air aircraft, to provide passenger, charter, cargo and emergency air transport services throughout northern Quebec and destinations across Canada and the United States.
In the far north, the aircraft and pilots are put to the test with extreme weather conditions and varying landing options. But providing a much-needed service and the spectacular views from the cockpit are the reward.
“We operate from major international airports such as Montreal and Quebec City all the way to remote community gravel runways,” said Jonathan Lukca, Air Inuit’s assistant to the Twin Otter and King Air chief pilot. “Since we’re a northern operator, we deal with short days in the winter; contaminated runways like snow drifts, ice, blowing snow; icing; and extreme cold. An average northern winter day can reach -30 degrees Celsius, and it dips lower at night.
“During the summer, days are very long, the sun hides below the horizon for only a few hours at ‘night’ at the end of June. The weather is generally pleasant in the summer; the main issue on a calm day are the ies. The landscape is breathtaking during the day, both in summer and winter, and on a clear night, the northern lights can put on quite a show!”
History of Air Inuit
Makivik Corporation formed in 1975 as the land claims organization mandated to manage the heritage funds of the Inuit of Nunavik provided for under the rst comprehensive Inuit land claim in Canada, the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement. Makivik promotes the preservation of Inuit culture and language as well as the health, welfare and education of the Inuit. The corporation’s role includes the administration and investment of these funds and the promotion of economic growth by providing assistance for the creation of Inuit- operated businesses in Nunavik.
One of those businesses is Air Inuit. Shortly after start-up, they added a pair of Twin Otters and one single-engine De Havilland DHC-3 Otter. In 1983, the company purchased the routes north along the eastern Hudson Bay coast from Austin Airways, increasing its Twin Otter eet to eight. In 1985, the company acquired a Hawker Siddley 748 twin-engined turboprop and began operating it from a base in Kuujjuaraapik, which was later relocated to La Grande (LG2) to address the growing demand to move cargo and heavy machinery throughout the region, primarily for mining purposes. In 1988, Johnny May’s Air Charters was purchased as a subsidiary company running single-engine Otters and Beavers during the oat season.
4 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
All of Air Inuit’s King Airs are modi ed for the Lifeport Plus Installation used for safe and rapid loading and unloading of passengers during medevac operations.
An ambitious expansion plan started in 1995 with the company introducing De Havilland Dash 8-100 service between Montreal and Nunavik. In 1998, they created Nunavik Rotors and purchased an Aerospatiale AStar 350 helicopter to bring rotary-wing service to the region. A couple years later, Air Inuit acquired three King Air A100 aircraft to accommodate an expanding ight network and improve emergency medical transportation ights.
The next big acquisition came in 2008, with the addition of a Boeing 737-200C capable of landing on gravel and specially adapted for northern operations. Air Inuit added a King Air 350 in 2017 for executive charter, commuter and emergency medical transport.
The regional airline built a multi-purpose, state-of- the-art maintenance center and head of ce at Montréal– Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in 2011, as part of a sweeping modernization initiative designed to meet increased demand for air transport services throughout Northern Quebec and other destinations across Canada and the United States.
APRIL 2018