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Bradley Air Services, operating as Canadian North, is a wholly
Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, ...
-owned airline headquartered in Kanata, Ontario, Canada. It operates scheduled passenger services to communities in the
Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
,
Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the '' Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'' ...
and the Nunavik region of
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...
, as well as southern destinations such as
Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anc ...
,
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
and
Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
. The company slogan is ''Fly the Arctic.''


History

First Air, originally Bradley Air Services, was founded by Canadian aviation pioneer Russel (Russ) Bradley, started operations in 1946 and is still registered under that name. Beginning as a flying school in Carp, Ontario, First Air started scheduled operations in 1973 between
Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
and North Bay, Ontario. This service was operated with an eight-seat passenger plane. Canadian North was established in 1989 as a subsidiary of Canadian Airlines International, specifically to serve northern Canadian communities' needs. The airline traces its roots to former operators Nordair in the Eastern Arctic, and Pacific Western Airlines in the West. Wardair also maintained a significant Arctic presence during its existence. In September, 1998, Canadian North was renamed Air Norterra, whose ownership was divided equally among the Inuvialuit Development Corporation, representing the Inuvialuit people of the western Canadian Arctic, and Nunasi Corporation, representing the
Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, ...
of Nunavut. After utilizing three different livery schemes, the airline adopted its final pre-merger logo in 2003. Its logo displays three of the distinctive symbols of the North: the polar bear, the
midnight sun The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When the midnight sun is seen in the Arctic, ...
and the Northern Lights. Canadian North's slogan was changed from "Your North. Your Airline" to "seriously northern" (all in lower-case), with advertising changed to reflect different aspects of the company (serious service, serious delivery, etc.).Who We Are
/ref> In June, 2007, Canadian North began serving the Kitikmeot communities of Gjoa Haven,
Taloyoak Taloyoak or Talurjuaq ( Inuktitut syllabics: ᑕᓗᕐᔪᐊᖅ ), formerly known as Spence Bay until 1 July 1992, although the body of water on which it is situated continues to be known as Spence Bay — same as the body of water on which I ...
, Kugaaruk, and
Kugluktuk Kugluktuk (, ; Inuktitut syllabics: ; ), formerly known as Coppermine until 1 January 1996, is a hamlet located at the mouth of the Coppermine River in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Canada, on Coronation Gulf, southwest of Victoria Islan ...
. In April, 2008, flights began to seven communities in the Qikiqtaaluk Region (Baffin Region) of Nunavut.Canadian North Launches New Service to Seven Baffin Communities
/ref> On April 1, 2014, the Inuvialuit Development Corporation (IDC), representing the Inuvialuit of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, bought the 50% share of NorTerra held by Nunasi. This purchase of NorTerra gave the IDC complete control of Canadian North Northern Transportation Company and other companies that were jointly-held. On April 11, 2014, Norterra and the Makivik Corporation, owners of First Air announced that they were in negotiations to merge the two airlines. According to a website that had been set up on that same day, the new airline would be owned equally between the two companies and "a merger would create a stronger, more sustainable business, provide better service to customers and lead to new economic development opportunities across the North. We believe the two companies would complement each other's strengths." In October, 2014, it was announced the merger would not go through, but Canadian North would still codeshare on some flights with First Air until 16 May 2017. On February 23, 2017, the Inuvialuit Development Corporation (IDC) announced that arrangements had been concluded to transfer ownership of Canadian North directly into Inuvialuit Development Corporation. On September 28, 2018, Makivik Corporation and the Inuvialuit Corporate Group (ICG) signed a definitive agreement to merge Canadian North and First Air, again awaiting government approval. The new airline would use the new First Air livery, but would operate under the name "Canadian North". On June 19, 2019, the federal government gave approval to the merger provided several terms and conditions were met. On November 1, 2019, First Air and Canadian North completed the merger and combined schedules into one, using the code 5T, dropping First Air's 7F code as well as the name but keeping the livery. In early 2021 the callsigns "First Air" and "Empress" were retired and the combined airline began operating as 5T/AKT, callsign "Arctic." As of December 18, 2021, operations are now under the Canadian North name with a new livery. Canadian North confirmed in December 2022 to retire their last Boeing 737-200 by early 2023, replacing it with turboprop aircraft with similar gravel runway capabilities.


Destinations

As of December 22, 2022, Canadian North has the following 28 domestic scheduled destinations:Flight Schedule
/ref>


Charter operations

Canadian North offers charters to anywhere, non-stop flights in continental North America and maintain charter terminals at
Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...
and
Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anc ...
.


Fleet


Current fleet

Over time the registration of the fleet has moved from Canadian North to Bradley Air Services (First Air). As of December 2022, the fleet consists of 32 aircraft all registered to Bradley Air Services.


Retired fleet

Aircraft previously operated include: * Fokker F28 Fellowship ( F.28 Mk 1000) * Fokker 100 (listed by
Transport Canada Transport Canada (french: Transports Canada) is the department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of road, rail, marine and air transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transporta ...
as a F.28 Mk 0100) *
De Havilland Canada Dash 8 The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, commonly known as the Dash 8, is a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners, introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was later bought by Boeing in 1988, then by Bombardier in 1992; then ...


Corporate affairs

The company headquarters are in Kanata, Ontario, the former First Air HQ. Canadian North had its headquarters in the Northwest Tower,Administration
." Canadian North. Retrieved on January 20, 2011. "Head Office - Yellowknife 300, 5201 50 Ave. Yellowknife, NT X1A 3S9 Canada"
in downtown Yellowknife. The airline announced that when its lease was to expire in the end of August 2013, the airline would vacate the office and move it and 20 employees out of Yellowknife. The airline kept its community and marketing support employees in Yellowknife. Most of the employees who relocated were from the accounting division. Lisa Hicks, a spokesperson, stated that there had been excess capacity at the airline's offices in Edmonton and Yellowknife. Canadian North headquarters were moved to the grounds of
Calgary International Airport Calgary International Airport , branded as YYC Calgary International Airport, is an international airport that serves the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is located approximately northeast of downtown and covers an area of 20.82 square ...
in Calgary, Alberta. In addition it has regional offices in
Iqaluit Iqaluit ( ; , ; ) is the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, its largest community, and its only city. It was known as Frobisher Bay from 1942 to 1987, after the large bay on the coast on which the city is situated. In 1987, its t ...
, Nunavut, and in Yellowknife,
Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
. It also has an operations office in Edmonton, Alberta, on the grounds of Edmonton International Airport. Following the takeover by First Air, the former headquarters in Calgary was shut down and remaining management was transferred to Kanata.


Programs and services

Canadian North in-flight service includes leather seating, advanced seat selection, free newspapers and magazines, and free colouring books and crayons for children. The airline offers Aeroplan rewards points, both to collect and to redeem. Passengers may redeem Air Miles points for travel on Canadian North.Welcome aboard your NEW Canadian North
/ref> Canadian North has
codeshare agreement A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...
s with Air North and Calm Air. Canadian North also has its own "Aurora Concierge" and Aurora Rewards program for frequent travellers. Benefits of being an Aurora Concierge member include: Priority check-in, baggage, and boarding, extra piece of checked luggage, free alcoholic beverages, no fee changes, personalized membership card and baggage tag, and more. In 2005 the airline started offering a Pivut Fare ("ours") to beneficiaries of the
Inuvialuit Final Agreement The Inuvialuit Settlement Region, abbreviated as ISR ( ikt, Inuvialuit Nunangit Sannaiqtuaq – INS; french: Région désignée des Inuvialuit – RDI), located in Canada's western Arctic, was designated in 1984 in the Inuvialuit Final Agreement ...
.Pivut Fares
. ''Canadian North''. October 6, 2020.


References


External links

* {{Airlines of Canada Air Transport Association of Canada Regional airlines of the Northwest Territories Regional airlines of Nunavut Airlines established in 1973 Airlines established in 1989 Companies based in the Northwest Territories Inuvialuit companies Regional airlines of Ontario Companies based in Ottawa Inuit transport Cargo airlines of Canada Canadian companies established in 1973 Canadian companies established in 1989