March 15, 2022, Ottawa, ON – Canadian North has announced the re-opening of the direct service between Iqaluit, Kuujjuaq, and Montreal, with flights now available for booking at canadiannorth.com.

Public Health Authorities have announced that most COVID-related flight restrictions for Nunavut and Nunavik will lift in the next few weeks, allowing Canadian North to be able to re-introduce an important flight route connecting these two regions of Inuit Nunangat. Starting on April 14, 2022, this route will run twice weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays, providing a great opportunity for long weekends or mid-week business trips.

“We are thrilled to re-introduce these flights that we have not been able to operate over the last two years due to COVID. Now that restrictions are easing throughout Canada and the North, re-introducing the Iqaluit to Kuujjuaq to Montreal flight route will allow easier travel to see family, and friends that we so desperately need. Thank you to our customers for their patience during this unprecedented time and we welcome you aboard once again.” Andrew Pope, Vice President, Customer & Commercial.

From CBC News – link to source story🔗

The airline is trying to clear a cargo backlog to Qikiqtaaluk communities

CBC News · January 12, 2022

Andrew Pope, the airline’s vice-president of customer and commercial, said the airline has a vaccination policy, but enforcing it hasn’t had much of an effect on operations. 

“I would say that the impact caused by that has been minimal,” said Pope. 

The company has about 1,550 employees overall. 

Pope said other factors, like bad weather in Nunavut and staff needing to isolate because of COVID-19, have created other challenges. 

“Those necessary absences [because of isolation] are having impacts on our operation,” said Pope. 

Cargo delays led to empty shelves for several days in Iqaluit stores last week.

Earlier this week, Duane Wilson, vice-president of stakeholder relations for Arctic Co-operatives Ltd., said produce orders usually come about every three days — but an order scheduled to arrive for Arctic Ventures in Iqaluit last Wednesday came in on Sunday instead. 

“Especially with perishable goods, there just isn’t that kind of buffer inventory to be able to handle a delay like that,” Wilson said. “That’s what resulted in the shelves being in deplorable conditions.” 

In general, Pope said, the flights between Ottawa and Iqaluit have been running smoothly and there is no longer a backlog between these locations, but the airline has struggled to reach other communities. 

“It has been a different story for some of the communities outside of Iqaluit in the Qikiqtaaluk region,” said Pope. ” We certainly have seen a large number of flight cancellations to those destinations.”

Pope added it is very difficult to recover from the backlog once a cargo flight is missed. Canadian North says they are prioritizing cargo flights to communities by cancelling passenger flights in favour of cargo flights. 

“[With] travel volumes being significantly depressed as a result of COVID-19, it made more sense to prioritize our cargo operations,” said Pope. 

Pope said flights to communities last weekend were stable. If that continues for the next several days, the backlog should clear.

The airline is also hiring other carriers to deliver cargo.

Ottawa, December 20, 2021

We are now more than two months into the Iqaluit Water Crisis. Winter has settled in. The public emergency has made international headlines. Iqalungmiut have endured: From neighbours getting river water for Elders to volunteers standing out in the cold to hand out bottles of water. Trying times often bring out the best in people and communities. 

That’s true behind the scenes too, where a number of organizations have been crucial in getting water to Iqalungmiut. Their workers have had to pour dozens of overtime hours into their job. The work-life balance so many of us seek has been temporarily thrown out the window. But you won’t hear any of those workers complain. 

“This is unprecedented, but everyone realizes what it’s for,” Hussam Beg said. Hussam manages Frobisher Bay Touchdown Services in Iqaluit, which normally provides ground services for military, air ambulances and private planes. Since the crisis started, though, Hussam has been working closely with other Iqaluit partners to make sure a steady stream of potable water is still getting to residents. 

“We’re working hand-to-hand and shoulder-to-shoulder and it’s developed a really good camaraderie,” Hussam said, just in from the cold after helping Canadian North cargo staff unload a CargoJet packed with bottled water and load another jet with cargo bound for Ottawa. 

His staff get to meet and joke around with staff from other organizations and invite them back to their base for coffee, Hussam said. 

“Everyone in their hearts knows that we’re helping, so we get that warm fuzzy feeling of bringing people together in a time of crisis. That wasn’t intended, it’s just a by-product,” said Hussam. 

And it’s not just his staff that have rallied to chip in – it’s other organizations and individuals that Hussam is quick to give credit to. 

“I’m so thankful if I have time to go collect water for myself that it’s volunteers I know standing out in the cold, giving out water – and they’re doing it for free,” he said. 

On airside, Frobisher Touchdown Services also gives their apron space to Air Canada jets flying in about once a week to deliver water, Hussam said. 

Another local partner that Hassam said deserves a lot of recognition is Mike Wilkins and his team over at RL Hanson. 

Mike’s team has been solely responsible for delivering the tonnes and tonnes of bottled water that has been arriving jetload after jetload from the airport into the actual community. 

Sometimes that means helping Canadian North staff break down up to 52 pallets of water on the tarmac before it freezes, Mike said. 

“At the end of the day everybody just tries to come together. It’s not ideal, but we’re all getting through it,” he said. 

Each pallet carries from 1,000 to 1,400 kilograms of water, Mike said. 

“Everyone’s a bit tired and can get on edge sometimes, but everybody realizes what we’re doing and what it’s for – and that’s something we’re proud of and happy to help out with,” he added. 

Mike, who has called Iqaluit home for nearly 20 years, said he’s never seen anything like this crisis. During sealift season, if ships pile up in the bay because of bad weather, his staff can work around the clock to make sure Iqalungmiut get their cargo. But this water crisis was, of course, unexpected and his company has to fill its regular contracts, like snow removal and school bussing services, at the same time. 

“We’ve had a couple of payrolls creeping up to 175, 180 hours,” for individual employees over a two-week period, he said. 

And this crisis has happened while the whole territory has been adjusting to COVID for nearly two years now. 

Because of that, Mike and some of his staff haven’t been able to take a holiday for two years. 

“I don’t know if there’s light at the end of the tunnel yet because we haven’t looked up long enough to see if there’s one there,” Mike said. 

“It’s been a challenge, but hey, it’s a crisis and our territory needs us,” he added.

Partners in the South have been crucial in getting water to the Iqaluit airport for Hussam’s and Mike’s team to help Canadian North unload, unpack and get into the city. 

Simon Gadbois is the Operations Manager of Arctic Consultants, a freight forwarding company and food supplier that has been serving Nunavik, Nunavut and the High Arctic for nearly 40 years. 

The key to responding to this crisis has been speed and flexibility, Simon said. 

“I think we got our first call from the Government of Nunavut at 9 AM and by that same afternoon we were delivering water to Canadian North in Ottawa,” he said. 

Like the others, Simon said his team has been very willing to put in extra work during the crisis. 

“This is a major crisis in a big city like Iqaluit with nearly 10,000 people. Having no water – we cannot imagine what it’d be like,” he said. 

It’s that empathy and understanding that motivates him and his team to put in the hours. 

But it’s presented some logistical challenges. 

“Nobody was expecting that volume of water to be needed,” Simon said. 

Arctic Consultant scoured the whole country for water suppliers to meet the Government of Nunavut’s orders, settling mostly on suppliers in Ontario and Quebec, he added. 

They deliver about 40 tonnes of water per plane load and have orders for 14 plane loads on deck. 

Simon said his staff are really taking the company’s motto – “Melting the distance” – to heart. 

“How can we melt the distance? Wherever water is, we’ll bring it to an airport to get it to Iqaluit,” he said. 

“Everyone understands the situation, that it’s an emergency. It’s extra work but it’s extra reward too. We’re proud to be helping.” 

Canadian North has also partnered with the City of Iqaluit for the distribution of the water, as well as CargoJet, Air Canada and Chrono Aviation in getting water to Iqaluit. 

Canadian North partnered with numerous other airlines and contractors to bring 33 flights full of bottled water to Iqaluit by the end of November. That includes jets operated by Canadian North, Air Canada and CargoJet as well as Hercules turboprop planes. So far, the total amount of water transported to Iqaluit by Canadian North is approximately 2.5 million bottles or 1.25 million litres. For comparison, an Olympic-size pool holds 2.5 million litres. Canadian North continues to work with its partners to ensure a steady flow of potable water reaches Iqaluit. 

From Simple Flying – link to source story

by Jake Hardiman | September 25, 2021

The Boeing 737-300 was the first variant from the 737 Classic series to take to the skies, doing so in 1984 with USAir. Boeing produced 1,113 of these aircraft, accounting for over half of 737 Classic deliveries as a whole. Now 37 years on from the type’s first flight and entry into service, let’s take a look at which airlines still fly this popular 737 variant.

The largest operators

According to data from ch-aviation.com, there are present 109 active passenger 737-300s left in the world. This version of Boeing’s best-selling narrowbody family is the mid-size variant in the 737 Classic series, being larger than the -500 and smaller than the -400.

Its largest current operators each have eight examples in their respective fleets. These are Canadian North, iAero Airways (USA), and the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (China). Mexican holiday specialist Magnicharters is just behind, with seven examples.

There is then a gap down to the next-largest active 737-300 fleets. These belong to Kyrgyzstan‘s Avia Traffic Company and Gambia’s Mid Africa Aviation (four each). Several operators worldwide have three remaining active 737-300s. These are Air Peace, Belavia, Boliviana, MaxAir, Star Perú, and Trigana Air Service. But what about even smaller fleets?

Smaller fleets

The 109 remaining active 737-300s represent less than 10% of the total production output for the type. Of these, several are in pairs at different airlines worldwide, with some even flying solo. Examples of operators with two 737-300s include Aerolíneas Estelar, ALK Airlines, Broadsword Aviation, Bul Air, Cally Air, Coulson Aviation, and Dana Air.

There are also military operators with two 737-300s, such as the Mexican Air Force. The remaining companies that fly the type are flyPersia, Jordan Aviation, Saha Airlines, Sands Aviation, SCAT Airlines, Tarom, and Varesh Airlines. Of course, it’s important not to forget the several operators worldwide that fly a single remaining 737-300.ADVERTISEMENT

These are widespread, and include Africa Airlines, Air Bucharest, ATA Airlines, Azman Air, and B&K Aero. Elsewhere, sole 737-300s can be found at Blue Bird Airway, Fanjet Express, Fly Jordan, FlyJet, Jonika Airlines, and even the Korean Air Force. Finally, Lumiwings, Mirage Aviation, Nauru Airlines, NordStar, Rutaca Airlines, Sideral Linhas Aéreas, Tarco Aviation, Tayaranjet, Trans Air Cargo, UR Airlines, and Yan Air also have a single example.

Running out of time

While a decent amount of Boeing 737-300s are presently active, this number will only get smaller as time passes. The fact of the matter is that these aging twinjets are likely approaching the end of their service lives. Data from ch-aviation shows that several examples have exceeded three decades of service, with the oldest about to hit 37 years old.

Even the youngest active examples have comfortably exceeded two decades of service, at around 22 years old. That being said, while the 737-300 is a dying breed, it does also play a useful role. Being an older design, it can be a cheaper option for smaller airlines in developing aviation industries, enabling air service in far-flung corners of the world.