Harbour Air Seaplanes is a scheduled

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, m ...

service, tour and

charter airline Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flights ...

based in

Richmond, British Columbia Richmond is a coastal city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. It occupies almost the entirety of Lulu Island (excluding Queensborough), between the two estuarine distributaries of the Fraser River. Encompassing the adja ...

, Canada. The predominantly

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteri ...

airline specializes in routes between

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "Hub City," which was ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, Sechelt, Comox, Whistler and the

Gulf Islands The Gulf Islands are a group of islands in the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia. Etymology The name "Gulf Islands" comes from "Gulf of Georgia," the original term used by George Vancouver in his ...

, primarily with

de Havilland Canada De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited is an aircraft manufacturer with facilities formerly based in the Downsview area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original home of de Havilland Canada was the home of the Canadian Air and Space Museum lo ...

floatplanes. Along with Westcoast Air,

Salt Spring Air Salt Spring Air (also known as Saltspring AirSalt Spring Air
- Retrieved on June 6, 2016) part of Beavers,

Otters Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes weas ...

and Twin Otters.

History

The airline was established and started operations in 1982 as Windoak Air Service to provide seaplane charter services for the

forestry industry The wood industry or timber industry (sometimes lumber industry -- when referring mainly to sawed boards) is the industry concerned with forestry, logging, timber trade, and the production of primary forest products and wood products (e.g. furn ...

in British Columbia. In 1993, Harbour Air purchased Trans-Provincial Airlines, added charter flights to resorts, and increased scheduled services. Today, Harbour Air refers to itself as the ''world's largest all-seaplane airline'' and became North America's first

carbon neutral Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the " ...

airline. A small subsidiary, Harbour Air Malta, was set up in June 2007 and a DHC-3 Turbo Otter

is permanently based in

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

for scheduled flights to

Gozo Gozo (, ), Maltese: ''Għawdex'' () and in antiquity known as Gaulos ( xpu, 𐤂𐤅𐤋, ; grc, Γαῦλος, Gaúlos), is an island in the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After ...

and sightseeing trips around the islands. ''Harbour Air Magazine'' is the official in-flight magazine of Harbour Air. On May 9, 2012 Harbour Air purchased Whistler Air.Whistler Air purchased by largest all-seaplane airline, Harbour Air
, Peak Magazine May 10, 2012. In September 2013, Harbour Air launched a land-based charter carrier, Tantalus Air. In November 2015, Harbour Air purchased

Salt Spring Air Salt Spring Air (also known as Saltspring AirSalt Spring Air
- Retrieved on June 6, 2016) part of Kenmore Air started a new seaplane service between

Downtown Vancouver Downtown Vancouver is the central business district and the city centre neighbourhood of Vancouver, Canada, on the northwestern shore of the Burrard Peninsula in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. It occupies most of the north shor ...

, and

Downtown Seattle Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared with other city centers on the U.S. West Coast due to its geographical situation, being hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by ...

on April 26, 2018 In March 2019, Harbour Air announced a partnership with magniX to electrify the entire Harbour Air fleet over the long term. Harbour Air has noted that its initial electric-powered commercial flights will be on routes of under 30 minutes' duration. The first converted aircraft was a DHC-2 Beaver which serves as the test prototype for the magniX motor, energy storage, and control systems. The prototype flew for the first time on December 10, 2019. The company hopes to have the aircraft certified for commercial use by 2021. In 2007, Harbour Air became the first airline in North America to achieve complete carbon neutrality in both flight services and corporate operations. Teamed up with Vancouver-based Offsetters, the airline started to include a

carbon offset A carbon offset is a reduction or removal of emissions of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for emissions made elsewhere. Offsets are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e). One ton of carb ...

on each ticket used to mitigate the environmental impact of the

greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and ...

(GHG's) associated with the flight. The funds are invested in

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

projects. On February 16, 2010, Deloitte Canada announced that Harbour Air was a winner of a 2009 Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies Award. This national award is sponsored by

Deloitte Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (), commonly referred to as Deloitte, is an international professional services network headquartered in London, England. Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of professio ...

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC; french: Banque canadienne impériale de commerce) is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at CIBC Square in the Financial District of Toronto, Ontario. ...

, ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'' and Queen's School of Business. On March 31, 2010, Harbour Air completed the acquisition of Westcoast Air and consolidated their terminal services.Fact Sheet
On May 20, 2011, Harbour Air grounded its service from

Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbor, harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on South China Sea were instrume ...

to Langley Regional Airport due to low passenger numbers and fuel price surges. In November 2015,

Salt Spring Air Salt Spring Air (also known as Saltspring AirSalt Spring Air
- Retrieved on June 6, 2016) part of electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describe ...

, which would serve as a test prototype during a two-year duration

regulatory Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. ...

approval process, and eventually hopes to convert its entire fleet to electric propulsion. The first plane to be converted is a DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver. The electric prototype made its first flight over 4 minutes off the

Fraser River The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual ...

near

on December 10, 2019. The

Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior The Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior is a series of nine-cylinder, air-cooled, radial aircraft engines built by the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company from the 1930s to the 1950s. These engines have a displacement of ; initial versions produced ...

piston engine of the six-passenger ePlane is replaced by a 750 hp (559 kW), 135 kg (297 lb) magni500, with swappable batteries allowing 30 min flights plus 30 min of reserve power. Harbour Air wants to convert all its 34 aircraft, including Beavers and

PT6 The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 is a turboprop aircraft engine produced by Pratt & Whitney Canada. Its design was started in 1958, it first ran in February 1960, first flew on 30 May 1961, entered service in 1964 and has been continuously upda ...

-powered

Otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes we ...

s and

Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restar ...

s. The plane completed its first point-to-point flight, from Vancouver to

Victoria Airport Water Aerodrome Victoria Airport Water Aerodrome is a seaplane base located north northwest of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, adjacent to Victoria International Airport. The airport is classified as an airport of entry by Nav Canada and is staffed by t ...

near Sidney on Vancouver Island, on August 18, 2022, travelling 72 km in 24 minutes. The aircraft was displayed at the BC Aviation Museum open house on August 20.

Awards and accolades

Harbour Air has won the following awards: * 2009 to 2014 – Canada's Best Managed Companies * 2009 to 2011 – BC's Top 55 Employers * 2011 – BC's Top 100 Employers for Young People * 2011 – Business of the Year: Victoria Chamber of Commerce * 2011 – Canada Tourism Commission Signature Experience Award * 2011/2016 – Business of the Year on Vancouver Island: Business Examiner / Business

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...

* 2012 – Cumberbatch Award: Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators * 2012/2015 – Canada's 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures * 2015 – Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce Business Awards – Outstanding Customer Service * 2015 – VISA Canada Traveller Experience of the Year/Tourism Industry Association of Canada

Destinations

Harbour Air floatplane at Victoria's Inner Harbour Airport

Victoria, BC - seaplane taking off 01 (20551034882)

Panoramic view of the archipelago of Victoria 01

As of February 2021, Harbour Air serves the following destinations:

Fleet

As of February 2021, the Harbour Air fleet consisted of 40 aircraft and 42 registered with

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 ...

:,
,
In addition, Transport Canada lists a Cessna 185 Skywagon but with a cancelled certificate.

Gallery

Explanatory notes

AOC number is used for Harbour Air Seaplanes, Whistler Air, Saltspring Air and West Coast Air.

References

External links

* {{Airlines of Canada 1982 establishments in British Columbia Airlines established in 1982 Charter airlines of Canada Companies based in Richmond, British Columbia Regional airlines of British Columbia Seaplane operators