Air Tindi has given its first indication of the service Fort Smith can expect when the airline takes over scheduled flights from Northwestern Air Lease in January 2025.
Northwestern, also known as NWAL, has served Fort Smith for decades. Last week, NWAL vice-president Brian Harrold told Cabin Radio the company was shifting its focus to charter services and contracts.
By email on Monday, Air Tindi president Chris Reynolds outlined what his airline expects to offer when it takes over Fort Smith’s scheduled service.
Reynolds said the long-term plan is for Air Tindi to add two Dash 8 aircraft to its fleet “to provide a fast, larger aircraft that is capable of carrying both passengers and excess baggage, personal groceries and priority freight.”
“We feel it is important to ensure the aircraft is able to carry these items as it is critical to lowering the cost of living in remote communities,” Reynolds wrote.
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When those Dash 8 aircraft arrive, the exact schedule they offer will be determined through consultation with Indigenous and community leaders, he added, though he expects that service to “connect both Fort Smith and Hay River to northern and southern hubs.”
The Dash 8s can carry up to 37 passengers but will be run most often in a 28-seat configuration with extra cargo capacity, Reynolds said.
Interim service starts mid-January
Importantly, however, the Dash 8 service won’t be operational by mid-January.
“The target is to start Dash 8 service in the spring but there are significant approvals required which Transport Canada is actively assisting us on,” Reynolds wrote.
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He said Air Tindi only learned last week that NWAL “was no longer able to provide scheduled service past January 15, which has accelerated our plans significantly.”
Between mid-January and the start of the Dash 8 service, Air Tindi said it will “be providing scheduled charter service to Fort Smith with a combination of our own aircraft and third-party aircraft.”
Reynolds said the interim service will offer “partial week Edmonton-Fort Chipewyan-Fort Smith-Yellowknife-return,” with the remaining part of the week offering Yellowknife-Fort Smith return flights.
“Please bear in mind this is fluid due to the expedited requirement,” he added.
