Thorunn Howatt
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Apr 08/02) - Faster emergency medical flights jetted through the Northwest Territories last week as the result of a partnership between two Northern airlines.

Air Tindi's Peter Arychuk shows off the medevac equipment inside a King Air 200. - Thorunn Howatt/NNSL photo

"We've purchased new medevac equipment to go inside the airplanes," said Yellowknife-based Air Tindi Ltd.'s Bob Schnurr. Two new retrofits cost the company about $80,000 per jet built in the United States specifically for the North.

"We bid on the contract territory-wide and we're working on it in conjunction with Aklak Air in Inuvik," said Schnurr. The five-year contract is unusually long, but that's what allowed the air companies to make the long-term commitments.

"It's allowed Air Tindi to hire six extra pilots," said Schnurr adding the contract will add up to as much as 30 per cent of its business and 25 per cent of Aklak's work.

Tindi bought two King Air 200 aircraft at a cost of about $2 million each to service the new five-year deal.

"Five years is a good, long period to help pay the equipment off," said Schnurr.

Air Tindi operated under the old contract for only the Yellowknife area. That situation called for three different medevac providers - Fort Smith, Inuvik and Yellowknife. The new contract was awarded in December, allowing the companies plenty of time to fit up the equipment.

In the new situation Tindi partnered with Inuvik's Aklak Air for the single contract. Inuvik and Yellowknife will be permanent bases but Fort Smith won't have a base. Yellowknife has two dedicated planes and one on standby. Inuvik has one dedicated plane and one on standby. Aklak is an Inuvialuit Development Corporation joint venture company.

"This contract provides for additional airplanes over the last contract and faster airplanes," said Schnurr. King Air 200 and King Air 90 aircraft flew during the previous contract. Now the 200s will be used exclusively.