Bearskin Airlines


Bearskin Lake Air Service LP, operating as Bearskin Airlines, is a regional airline based in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. It is a division of Perimeter Aviation and operates services in northern Ontario and Manitoba. Its main base is at Thunder Bay International Airport, with a hub at Greater Sudbury Airport.

History

The airline was established in 1963 by bush pilot Otto John Hegland and started operations in July 1963 from its base at Big Trout Lake, Ontario. It started out by providing only charter services to the remote First Nations reserves in northern Ontario, using bush planes equipped with floats in the summer and skis in the winter. In 1977, it began its first regular scheduled flights between Big Trout Lake and Sioux Lookout.
From then on, other scheduled flights were progressively added, first to Thunder Bay, followed by Kenora and Winnipeg. This was also the period when the Government of Ontario began constructing new airfields that would make the northern communities accessible year-round. Therefore, in the late 1970s to the early 1980s, Bearskin made the transition of bush planes to wheeled commuter planes.
Following the collapse of NorOntair in 1996, Bearskin picked up over two thirds of that carrier's routes, thereby adding scheduled service to all the major northern Ontario cities. Three years later, it expanded operations to destinations in northern Manitoba. In 2003, it sold its routes and assets servicing northern First Nations communities to Wasaya Airways. This marked as a break with its bush flying background to focus on becoming a regional carrier.
It was owned by Harvey Friesen, Cliff Friesen, Karl Friesen, Rick Baratta and Brad Martin, but in 2010 it was sold to Exchange Income Corporation for $32 million. EIC also owns Calm Air, Perimeter Aviation, and Keewatin Air. Bearskin has 240 employees.
As of April 1, 2014, all service at Region of Waterloo Airport and Ottawa Airport was cancelled, affecting seven routes and significantly decreased the flight operations. The company indicated that a softening mining sector and high tech sectors were to blame for cutting the routes. Additional factors included the introduction of new competitors. The company indicated it's refocusing on northwestern and northeastern routes in Northern Ontario.
Bearskin is a major provider of flights for Hope Air, a charity that organizes free non-emergency medical flights for people in financial need, particularly from remote communities.

Destinations

Bearskin Airlines operates services to the following Canadian domestic scheduled destinations:
CityProvinceIATAICAOAirportNotes
DrydenOntarioYHDCYHDDryden Regional Airport
Fort FrancesOntarioYAGCYAGFort Frances Municipal Airport
KenoraOntarioYQKCYQKKenora Airport
North BayOntarioYYBCYYBNorth Bay/Jack Garland Airport
Red LakeOntarioYRLCYRLRed Lake Airport
Sault Ste. MarieOntarioYAMCYAMSault Ste. Marie Airport
Sioux LookoutOntarioYXLCYXLSioux Lookout AirportHub
SudburyOntarioYSBCYSBSudbury AirportFocus
Thunder BayOntarioYQTCYQTThunder Bay International AirportHub
TimminsOntarioYTSCYTSTimmins/Victor M. Power Airport
WinnipegManitobaYWGCYWGWinnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International AirportHub

Routes

Leaving From:Going To:
DrydenFort Frances, Kenora, Red Lake, Sioux Lookout, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg
Fort FrancesDryden, Kenora, Thunder Bay
KenoraDryden, Fort Frances, Sioux Lookout, Thunder Bay
North BaySault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Thunder Bay
Red LakeDryden, Kenora, Sioux Lookout, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg
Sault Ste. MarieNorth Bay, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Timmins
Sioux LookoutDryden, Fort Frances, Kenora, Red Lake, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg
SudburyNorth Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay, Timmins
Thunder BayDryden, Fort Frances, Kenora, North Bay, Red Lake, Sault Ste. Marie, Sioux Lookout, Sudbury, Timmins, Winnipeg
TimminsSault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Thunder Bay
WinnipegDryden, Red Lake, Sioux Lookout, Thunder Bay

Fleet

As per the Bearskin Airlines site the only aircraft they operate are Fairchild Swearingen Metroliners. As of August 2019, Perimeter Aviation has 23 of the aircraft available:

AircraftNumberVariantsPassengersNotes
Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner23SA227 Series1915 - 291 Metro III, 2 - 115 Metro 23, 6 - 115 Metro 23


Previously operated

Bearskin Airlines has flown the following aircraft in the past:
The airline offers Aeroplan rewards points, both to collect and to redeem.

Accidents and incidents