A new airline is planning to offer a new way to get to Vancouver Island’s west coast and around the Gulf and San Juan islands starting this summer.
Northstar Air Tours, which set up shop this year at Shell Aerocentre at Victoria International Airport, intends to offer both charter and scheduled service starting in May.
The schedules won’t be set, however, until the company gets Federal Aviation Authority approvals in the U.S.
“We’ve been ready to go for six months,” said owner Henry Emson from his office in Calgary. “Right now we are waiting. But as I say, life is full of hope.”
Northstar has its approvals in place from Transport Canada and the Canadian Transportation Agency to operate, but has been waiting months for the U.S. approval.
Emson said the plan is to run scheduled service between Sidney and Friday Harbour and other parts of the San Juan Islands as well as develop service to Squamish and the west coast of the Island.
“There are very few charters available of our size on the Island, which is unusual,” Emson said. “So as a market, I think it’s a good one, and we felt we’d give it a go.”
Emson, who was a Royal Canadian Air Force navigator before starting his aviation career with Wardair in 1964, said they have hired pilots and staff and are ready to go.
The aircraft the company will use is a Britten-Norman Islander, which most recently was working in northern B.C.
The design of the aircraft allows for nine passengers. Its wings are fixed high on the aircraft, making for excellent sight-seeing.
“It doesn’t go very fast, but over the kind of legs we are talking about it won’t make much difference,” he said of the short-haul flights, noting that with the kind of scenery on the islands most passengers won’t care.
The aircraft is designed to handle short runways, as well as grass and gravel runways, allowing it to get in and out of places some other aircraft may not be able to handle.
It’s also designed to be easy on the passenger pocketbook. Emson said flights will range between $130 and $150.
The company is planning on running one- and two-day tours from the San Juan Islands and Seattle.
