Nasty winter weather has prompted Harbour Air to add another land-based plane to its fleet to improve the reliability of its service.
A 30-passenger wheeled Saab aircraft has been chartered until early March to fill in when float planes can’t fly, Harbour Air vice-president Randy Wright said Monday.
It joins an eight-passenger Harbour Air-owned Pilatus PC-12, a single-engine turboprop wheeled aircraft acquired by the company last fall. It is operated by Tantalus Air, a Harbour Air subsidiary.
Wright would not reveal how many float plane flights have been cancelled because of poor weather in recent months, but said “it has been substantial.”
“It’s been a tough year this year,” Wright said. “We can’t control the weather.”
The region has been hit with a range of conditions over several months, including long periods of fog, heavy rain and winds.
Harbour Air’s aim is to give passengers confidence they will reach their destination, Wright said.
Harbour Air operates scheduled flights and charter services out of Victoria’s Inner Harbour and downtown Vancouver’s waterfront, as well as other locations on the coast.
Wright said Harbour Air has shuttle buses in Victoria and Vancouver to carry passengers from seaplane bases to the wheeled planes, if necessary. Harbour Air will use the Shell Aerocentre at Victoria International Airport and the south terminal at Vancouver International Airport.
Float planes fly by visual flight rules, meaning that when the fog socks in, they remain tied up. But the land-based planes rely mainly on instruments, allowing them to fly when float planes remain tied.
Harbour Air does not allow flights if visibility is less than 3.2 kilometres in the air and less than 90 metres at destination or departure point. The company also doesn’t fly if wind speeds are above 25 knots.
Along with shuttles to and from the terminals, passengers flying on wheeled aircraft will get “expedited boarding, bypass security lineups and checks included in this new program,” Wright said. There is no additional cost.
The Saab went into use Jan. 15. Within three days, Harbour Air carried 264 passengers who had planned to fly on a float plane.
