First Air Evaluating New Aircraft and Implementing Fleet Changes

(March 13, 2015 — Ottawa, Ontario) First Air, the Airline of the North, announced today that it is actively looking to add new aircraft to its fleet. The goal is to modernize the fleet while decreasing the number of aircraft types in use, thereby reducing maintenance costs and complexity in its operations.

“First Air has been impaired for years by maintaining a variety of aircraft. In a fleet of just over 20, we currently need to train personnel and stockpile parts for a total of six aircraft types”, says Brock Friesen, President and CEO of First Air. “In the near future, First Air will concentrate on two aircraft types only.”

The airline is investigating both the ATR 42-500 as well as Bombardier’s Q400 as possible replacements for its turboprop aircraft. Up to 10 of these aircraft could be ordered partly to expand and partly to replace older generation ATRs. The first new aircraft could arrive before the end of the year.

Bert van der Stege, Vice President Commercial at First Air, says: “When restructuring an airline, fleet simplicity is key. First Air is very good at operating ATRs and 737s. Besides the ATR replacement, we have embarked on an ambitious study to determine how many additional B737-400 aircraft will be needed.”

In 2014, First Air began this restructuring project by transferring its sole Boeing 767 to Cargojet, which operates up to four flights per week on behalf of First Air. More recently, both Hercules C130 freighter aircraft were sold due to high cost of operation and low demand.

“A lean, efficient, and modern fleet combined with our excellence in northern operations will ensure that we maintain our service levels and achieve our cost-cutting targets,” says Dr. Brock Friesen.

Management will present a fleet plan at its next Board Meeting. Implementing fleet modernization and an expansion of First Air’s current operations means a multi-million dollar investment, a project that will start this year and run throughout 2016.