We are #AirNorthProud

Air North has proudly flown the Yukon skies for over 43 years. This year has brought success, such as being named Best Airline in Canada in the Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards, along with a significant number of challenges. And many challenges still lie ahead. We know Air North will emerge from the shadow of COVID-19, but the scale of our operation by that time is not easy to predict. We also know the support of Yukoners now, and in the months ahead, is critical to the scale of our operation and the services we are able to provide.

Since 1977 we have been lifted by the goodwill and support of our customers. With your help, we will continue to fly the Yukon’s flag throughout Canada and share our Yukon spirit wherever we go.

Why 'Flying Local' Matters

Flying the North 
  • With the North accounting for more than 40% of Canada’s landmass and only 0.3% of the population, northern air carriers are an integral part of Canada’s national transportation network. Northern carriers fly to communities that mainline carriers have no interest in serving, and we provide a suite of products that mainline carriers don’t offer either
  • Airfares on Air North’s regional routes are less than half the cost as similar routes in the central and eastern Arctic. As well, Air North’s entrance into the gateway market has cut gateway travel costs in half
Market Share
  • The market is producing enough traffic to keep us going without subsidy, without major layoffs, and without major fare increases, provided that we can take steps to capture a larger share of market traffic
  • The Yukon gateway market, with subsidies paid to two competing carriers, supported four daily flights in August, but every passenger could have been accommodated on our two daily flights at an 80% load factor
Local Employment in the Yukon
  • 1 in 15 Yukoners hold an equity or employment stake in Air North
  • We are one of the largest private sector employers in the Yukon and our activities account for approximately 2.4% of the Yukon’s GDP. When air transportation is purchased from a locally-based company, dollars remain in or flow into the Yukon economy
  • Last August, we employed 375 full time equivalent employees (FTEs). This August we employed 228 FTEs. Without the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, our August workforce would have been 196 FTEs. In the absence of continued subsidy, that is where we will need to be if we can maintain our current flying schedule and that is a big “if.” 
  • Post-September traffic has declined by around 10% but there are still three daily flights in the market, two from us and one from our mainline competitor. If the market is only able to support two daily flights this winter, there will be more than 100 Yukon jobs on the line if we are forced to split the traffic
  • Through the end of August, COVID-19 has had nearly a $17 million impact on our business. During the same period, we have been able to obtain about $5.5 million in financial relief, most of which related to our $11 million payroll. It would have been difficult to survive without this aid
The Environmental Aspect
  • The Government of Yukon’s recently announced climate change strategy includes an objective to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector by 30% in the next 10 years. Aviation’s part of this goal could be achieved overnight by simply addressing the excess capacity in the gateway aviation market. In addition, doing so would allow us to get our jet fleet modernization program back on track, thus providing another 20% reduction in jet fuel consumption

The Air North Difference

Keeping Middle Seats Open 
  • Through our Care First program, we are providing an additional level of safety on our gateway flights by refraining from selling adjacent seats to those not in the same “travel bubble”. This comes at a cost to us, but in our small community, we believe this is the right thing to do
Our Service
  • From serving local products to freshly baking warm cookies, we believe flying should be an enjoyable experience. Though we have modified our inflight service to ensure everyone’s safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, we look forward to bringing back the service we are known for in the near future
Connector Fares
  • We recognize that your travels sometimes take you beyond our route network. We are pleased to offer Connector Fares for passengers with connecting flights with fares as low as $100 one-way between Whitehorse and Vancouver now available
Baggage Policies
  • Air North is proud to continue offering our passengers two complimentary checked bags
  • We have an interline baggage agreement with Air Canada—which means that in most circumstances we are able to seamlessly transfer baggage between ourselves and Air Canada and vice versa on domestic flights