Keewatin Air

Keewatin Air (IATA: FK) is an airline that operates from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.[3] The airline was started by Frank Robert May (who had been a pilot for Lamb Air) and his wife Judy Saxby in 1971, in the Keewatin Region, then part of the Northwest Territories.[6]

Keewatin Air
A Beech 200 at Cambridge Bay Airport
IATA ICAO Callsign
FK KEW[1] BLIZZARD[1]
Founded1998
AOC #782[2]
Operating basesWinnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport[3]
Secondary hubsChurchill Airport,
Thompson Airport,
Cambridge Bay Airport,
Igloolik Airport,
Iqaluit Airport,
Rankin Inlet Airport,
Yellowknife Airport[3]
Fleet size25,[4] 9 (min)[5]
Parent companyExchange Income Corporation
HeadquartersWinnipeg, Manitoba, Canada[3]
Websitehttps://www.keewatinair.ca/

It was formed as "Keewatin Air Limited" to provide charter services to the region. It was the first airline to have a permanent base in Nunavut (then known as the Keewatin Region of the Northwest Territories). In 1987 it expanded to include medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) services, to what would become the Kivalliq Region, using a fleet of aircraft that began with a Tradewind aircraft - a multi-modified Beech 18 with a turbine engine and tricycle gear. This aircraft was followed by a Westwind, another modified Beech 18 with turbine engines and eventually these were replaced by Merlin IIA aircraft that had the added benefit of being pressurized and had turboprops. The MEDEVAC service is now known as "Nunavut Lifeline".[7] Currently three Kingair 200 aircraft are based in Rankin Inlet, one in Churchill, Manitoba. and two in Iqaluit, where the airline also bases a Lear 35 for the long hauls to Ottawa and a Pilatus PC-12 to access the short strips.

In 1998 the company formed Kivalliq Air to provide scheduled air service within the Kivalliq Region and to Winnipeg and Churchill.[8] That service has since been cancelled.

In 2005 the company was sold to Exchange Industrial Income Fund (now Exchange Income Corporation), owners of Perimeter Aviation, Bearskin Airlines and Calm Air. May and Saxby continued to manage the airline for a short period after the sale.[9]

Destinations

Charter services are available to destinations throughout North America.[10]

Fleet

As of February 2011 the following 24 aircraft were registered with Transport Canada and at least 9 listed with Keewatin Air.[5][4]

Keewatin Air fleet
AircraftNo. of aircraft
Keewatin		No. of aircraft
TC		VariantsNotes
Beechcraft Super King Air719King Air 200/B20012 are listed under the trade name Kivalliq Air Nunavut Lifeline. MEDIVAC (air ambulance). Four are listed as Model 200 and fifteen as Model B200
Cessna Citation Vn/a4Model 560, Model 560 Ultra7-8 passengers. Not on Keewatin site.
Pilatus PC-12n/a2PC-12/45air charter

Accidents and incidents

References
  1. "ICAO Designators for Canadian Aircraft Operating Agencies, Aeronautical Authorities and Services" (PDF). Nav Canada. 2023-05-04. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-02-26. Keewatin Air: KEW, BLIZZARD
  2. Transport Canada (2019-09-02), Civil Aviation Services (CAS) AOC. wwwapps.tc.gc.ca.
  3. Company Bases
  4. "Canadian Civil Aircraft Register: Quick Search Result for Keewatin Air". Transport Canada. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
  5. Keewatin Air fleet
  6. May Family History
  7. Nunavut Lifeline
  8. Kivalliq Air Archived 2006-11-01 at the Wayback Machine
  9. CBC News - Keewatin Air sold to southern interests
  10. Charter Services
  11. "Chartered plane crashes in northern Canada, killing baby". BNO News. 23 December 2012. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
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