Flight Alaska (d/b/a Yute Air) was an American
airline
An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in wh ...
based in
Bethel,
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...
,
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. It operated scheduled services to over 22 villages in Alaska and also provided charter services throughout Alaska. Its main base was
Bethel Airport
Bethel Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) southwest of the central business district of Bethel, a city in the Bethel Census Area of the U.S. state of Alaska.
As per Federal Aviation Adm ...
. The air carrier announced abruptly that it was ceasing operations on March 5, 2017, effective immediately, with
Ravn Alaska
Northern Pacific Airways, Inc., d.b.a. Ravn Alaska, is an Alaskan airline that specializes in serving the small communities in the US state of Alaska. The airline is headquartered in Anchorage, which is also home to its primary hub, Ted Steve ...
purchasing the tangible owned assets of Yute Air and replacing Yute Air on its former routes.
The company slogan was ''Wings of the People.''
History
The airline, established by Phillip and Demptha Bingman, began flying from
Dillingham, Alaska
Dillingham ( esu, Curyung; russian: Диллингхем ), also known as Curyung, is a city in Dillingham Census Area, Alaska, United States. Incorporated in 1963, it is an important commercial fishing port on Nushagak Bay. As of the 2020 c ...
in 1956 as Bob Harris Flying Services. It was renamed in 1974 as Yute Air Alaska, translating to "the people" in Yupik. Yute Air was sold to William Johnson in 1988. After 11 years, in 1999 he filed for
bankruptcy. The company and
operating certificate
Operating certificate is a category of license issued by a government agency allowing an individual or company to provide a controlled type of service. These certificates are generally issued for a limited time period. Certificates can have in ...
were then acquired by the Flight International Group in April 2000 and shortly thereafter renamed "Flight Alaska". Under the Flight Alaska name, it operated with a multitude of aircraft in addition to the original
Cessna 207
The Cessna 205, 206, and 207, known primarily as the Stationair (and marketed variously as the Super Skywagon, Skywagon and Super Skylane) are a family of single-engined, general aviation aircraft with fixed landing gear, used in commercial air ...
aircraft, including a
Lear 35,
King Air 200, and four
CASA 212-200's. Operations included bypass mail, scheduled passenger and freight service, lodge and private charters, and government smokejumping contracts. Yute Air was then acquired by Tim Vottis, in 2004. The airline was downsized to only hub out of
Bethel Airport
Bethel Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) southwest of the central business district of Bethel, a city in the Bethel Census Area of the U.S. state of Alaska.
As per Federal Aviation Adm ...
, AK and only serve the surrounding area. The name reverted to
Yute Air
Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Yout ...
, which it used until going out of business in 2017.
Destinations
Yute Air operated services to the following domestic scheduled destinations (at June 2012):
Bethel,
Chefornak,
Eek,
Goodnews Bay,
Kipnuk,
Kongiganak,
Kwigillingok,
Newtok,
Nightmute,
Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver".
Pla ...
,
Quinhagak,
Toksook Bay,
Tuntutuliak and
Tununak,
Atmautluak,
Nunapitchuk,
Kasigluk,
Kwethluk
Kwethluk ( ; esu, Kuiggluk) is a city in Bethel Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. At the 2010 census the population was 721, up from 713 in 2000.
Geography
Kwethluk is located at (60.802332, -161.418556). It lies at the confluence of th ...
,
Akiachak,
Akiak,
Tuluksak,
Kalskag and others.
Fleet
At the time of closure, Yute Air's fleet consisted of two
Cessna 172
The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company.[Cessna 207
The Cessna 205, 206, and 207, known primarily as the Stationair (and marketed variously as the Super Skywagon, Skywagon and Super Skylane) are a family of single-engined, general aviation aircraft with fixed landing gear, used in commercial air ...](_blank ...<br></span></div> and twelve <div class=)
aircraft, all sold to
Ravn Alaska
Northern Pacific Airways, Inc., d.b.a. Ravn Alaska, is an Alaskan airline that specializes in serving the small communities in the US state of Alaska. The airline is headquartered in Anchorage, which is also home to its primary hub, Ted Steve ...
upon closure.
See also
* List of defunct airlines of United States
References
{{Airlines of the United States, state=collapsed
2017 disestablishments in Alaska
Airlines established in 2000
Airlines disestablished in 2017
Bethel, Alaska
Defunct regional airlines of the United States
2000 establishments in Alaska
Defunct airlines of the United States