Grant Aviation is a

regional airline A regional airline is a general classification of airline which typically operates scheduled passenger air service, using regional aircraft, between communities lacking sufficient demand or infrastructure to attract mainline flights. In North ...

that serves the town of Kenai, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Bristol Bay, and the Aleutian Chain in

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., ...

, United States. The airline was formed in 1971 as Delta Air Services based in Emmonak. The current owners are Bruce McGlasson and Mark "Woody" Richardson, who purchased the airline in 2004. The company slogan is "Fly Easy, Fly Grant."

History

Grant Aviation was established in 1971 as Delta Air Services in Emmonak. The name was changed to Grant Aviation in 1993. Throughout the company's early years, before organizations like LifeMed Alaska, Grant provided medevac services for many of the villages of the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta. Villages would call Grant for medevac services and Grant would then transport patients to receive emergency medical care. In October 1994, the village of Emmonak gave a Native owl mask to Grant Aviation in appreciation for numerous life-saving efforts in the villages of the Yukon River Delta. Later this mask became the company logo.

Operations

Grant Aviation serves over 100 communities in Alaska throughout the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, the Aleutians and Bristol Bay.with bases in

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

Bethel Bethel ( he, בֵּית אֵל, translit=Bēṯ 'Ēl, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; el, Βαιθήλ; la, Bethel) was an ancient Israelite sanct ...

Cold Bay Cold Bay ( ale, Udaamagax,; Sugpiaq: ''Pualu'') is a city in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 108, but at the 2020 census this had reduced to 50. Cold Bay is one of the main commercial ...

, Dillingham, Emmonak, Kenai,

King Salmon The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon in North America, as well as the largest in the genus ''Oncorhynchus''. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other ve ...

and Unalaska/Dutch Harbor. IIt provides air ambulance services in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Region through a contract with LifeMed Alaska.

Fleet

Grant Aviation flies a fleet of small

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

-driven airplanes, including: On 7 July 2020, Grant Aviation acquired 10 Cessna 208 Caravans, and five Cessna 207 planes at

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 ...

's bankruptcy auction.

Community awareness

Grant Aviation, along with

Bering Air Bering Air is an American airline headquartered in Nome, Alaska, United States. It operates domestic scheduled passenger and charter airline services, as well as air ambulance and helicopter services. Its main base is Nome Airport, with hubs at ...

Frontier Flying Service Frontier Flying Service (d/b/a Ravn Connect) was an American airline headquartered in Fairbanks, Alaska, United States. It operated an extensive network of year-round scheduled commuter services and postal services to Alaska bush communities, p ...

Northern Air Cargo Northern Air Cargo, LLC (NAC) is an American cargo airline based in Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage, Alaska, United States, USA. NAC operates a small fleet of Boeing 737-300s and Boeing 737-400 freighter aircraft within the state of Alaska as well as ...

PenAir Peninsula Airways, operated as PenAir, was a U.S.-based regional airline headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska. It was Alaska's second-largest commuter airline operating scheduled passenger service, as well as charter and medevac services through ...

, and Ryan Air, participates in the Flying Can service, which allows rural Alaskan communities to recycle aluminum cans and now number 1

PET A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence, ...

bottles in cooperation with

Alaskans for Litter Prevention and Recycling 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., ...

. Grant provides air ambulance services in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Region through a contract with LifeMed Alaska. Grant Aviation also has a program to move shelter animals from the Kenai to Anchorage, where they have a better chance of getting adopted.

Quyana Rewards

Grant Aviation offers a

frequent-flyer program A frequent-flyer program (American English) or frequent-flyer programme (British English) is a loyalty program offered by an airline. Many airlines have frequent-flyer programs designed to encourage airline customers enrolled in the program ...

called Quyana Rewards. Members get credit for every paid segment on Grant Aviation. Members can redeem a free one-way ticket for every five segments and a round trip for ten segments, anywhere they fly. Rewards never expire.

References

External links

* {{Airlines of the United States, state=collapsed 1971 establishments in Alaska Air ambulance services in the United States Airlines established in 1971 Airlines based in Alaska American companies established in 1971 Companies based in Alaska Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska Regional airlines of the United States Medical and health organizations based in Alaska