Wasaya Airways
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 AHawker Siddeley HS 748parked in front of theRed Lakehangar | |||||||
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| Founded | 1989 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AOC # | 11802[2] | ||||||
| Hubs | Thunder Bay International Airport Sioux Lookout Airport | ||||||
| Secondary hubs | Red Lake Airport Pickle Lake Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 17[3][4] | ||||||
| Destinations | 24[5] | ||||||
| Parent company | Wasaya Group Inc. | ||||||
| Headquarters | Thunder Bay,Ontario | ||||||
| Key people | Paul Disley (President and CEO)[6] | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
Wasaya Airways LP(or inOji-Creeᐙᐦᓭᔮ ᐱᒥᐦᓭᐎᐣ (Waaseyaa Bimisewin); unpointed: ᐗᓭᔭ ᐱᒥᓭᐎᐣ) is aFirst Nations-owned domestic airline[7]with its headquarters inThunder Bay,Ontario,Canada.[8]Its main hubs are theThunder Bay International Airportand theSioux Lookout Airport;It also offers a charter and cargo service from a base inRed Lake AirportandPickle Lake Airport.In 2003, Wasaya Airways bought the rights to serve remote First Nations communities fromBearskin Airlines.The airline also supplies food, clothing, hardware and other various supplies to 25 remote communities in Ontario.
History
[edit]Established in 1989 asKelner Airways,[9]it was renamed Wasaya in 1993. The new name comes from theOji-Cree language,which means "it is bright" in English, in reference to the brightness of the rising Sun.
Over the years, the airline has grown from afloatplaneoperation to a charter and scheduled passenger service airline.
Its inflight magazineSagatayis published in conjunction withWawatay Native Communications Society.
In October 2010, the company purchased aDe Havilland Canada Dash 8to bolster its fleet.
Destinations
[edit]
Scheduled services
[edit]Wasaya Airways serves the following destinations in Ontario:[5]
- Bearskin Lake First Nation(Bearskin Lake Airport), owner community
- Deer Lake First Nation(Deer Lake Airport)
- Fort Severn First Nation(Fort Severn Airport), owner community
- Kasabonika Lake First Nation(Kasabonika Airport), owner community
- Keewaywin First Nation(Keewaywin Airport), owner community
- Kingfisher First Nation(Kingfisher Lake Airport), owner community
- Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation(Big Trout Lake) (Big Trout Lake Airport), owner community
- Muskrat Dam Lake First Nation(Muskrat Dam Airport), owner community
- Nibinamik First Nation(Summer Beaver), (Summer Beaver Airport), owner community
- North Spirit Lake First Nation(North Spirit Lake Airport)
- Pickle Lake(Pickle Lake Airport), freight hub
- Pikangikum First Nation(Pikangikum Airport), owner community
- Poplar Hill First Nation(Poplar Hill Airport)
- Red Lake(Red Lake Airport), hub
- Sandy Lake First Nation(Sandy Lake Airport), owner community
- Sioux Lookout(Sioux Lookout Airport), hub
- Thunder Bay(Thunder Bay International Airport), hub
- Wapekeka First Nation(Angling Lake/Wapekeka Airport), owner community
- Wunnumin Lake First Nation(Wunnumin Lake Airport), owner community
Fleet
[edit]As of March 2024, Wasaya Airways had 17 aircraft listed on their website, however individual numbers are not listed, and registered withTransport Canada.[3][4]
| Aircraft | No. of aircraft TC |
Variants | Notes[4] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATR 42 | 1 | ATR 42-320 | Not listed at Wasaya Airways site | |
| ATR 72 | 2 | ATR 72-212 | Not listed at Wasaya Airways site | |
| Beechcraft 1900 | 6 | 1900D | Seats up to 18, used for scheduled and charter service | |
| Cessna 208 | 1 | 208B Grand Caravan | Seats up to 9, used for scheduled, charters, freight services, and fuel | |
| De Havilland Canada Dash 8 | 2 | DHC-8-102 / DHC-8-314 | Seats up to 37 for scheduled and charter service and 0 on the freight only. | |
| Hawker Siddeley HS 748 | 4 | 748 Series 2A | Used for charters for freight and fuel only with no passengers | |
| Pilatus PC-12 | 1 | PC-12/45 | Seats up to 9, used for scheduled, charters and freight services | |
| Total | 17 | |||
Accidents and incidents
[edit]- On 11 September 2003, aCessna 208B Grand Caravanof Wasaya Airways Flight 125 crashed nearSummer Beaver,killing all eight persons on board. The flight originated inPickle Lakeand was scheduled to land atSummer Beaver Airport,but the airplane crashed and burned 3nautical miles(5.6 km; 3.5 mi) northwest of the runway. TheTransportation Safety Board of Canadawas unable to determine the cause.[10][11]
- On 12 June 2012, a Wasaya AirwaysHawker Siddeley HS 748caught fire while unloading JET A-1jet fuelatSandy Lake Airportin Northwestern Ontario. No injuries were reported. The aircraft burned to the ground, and only the left wing andnacellesurvived.[12]
- On 11 December 2015, Wasaya Airways Flight 127, aCessna 208B Grand Caravan,while en route fromPickle Lake AirporttoAngling Lake/Wapekeka Airport,crashed approximately 10nautical miles(19 km; 12 mi) north northeast of Pickle Lake Airport. The pilot was the sole occupant and was killed in the crash. The probable cause for the accident was flying in known or forecasticingconditions although the aircraft was prohibited from doing that, and a high take-off weight that increased the severity of degraded performance when the flight encounteredicing conditions.[13][14]
References
[edit]- ^ab"ICAO Designators for Canadian Aircraft Operating Agencies, Aeronautical Authorities and Services"(PDF).Nav Canada.4 May 2023. p. 8.Retrieved27 February2023.
Wasaya Airways: WSG, WASAYA
- ^Transport Canada(27 August 2019), Civil Aviation Services (CAS)AOC.wwwapps.tc.gc.ca.
- ^ab"Canadian Civil Aircraft Register: Quick Search Result for Wasaya Airways".Transport Canada.Retrieved17 March2024.
- ^abc"Our Fleet".Retrieved17 March2024.
- ^abDestinationsandCommunities
- ^Executive Biographies
- ^About
- ^Contact
- ^"Kelner Airways".Airline History.Retrieved24 September2020.
- ^"CADORS report for Wasaya Airways (WSG125)".Transport Canada.
- ^"Aviation Investigation Report A03H0002".Transportation Safety Board of Canada. 24 April 2013.Retrieved22 September2015.
- ^"CADORS report for Wasaya Airways (FTTW)".Transport Canada.
- ^"CADORS report for Wasaya Airways (WSG127)".Transport Canada.
- ^"Aviation Safety Network, Wasaya Flight 127".
External links
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