Tara Kearsey
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (May 10/02) - Buffalo Airways and Buffalo Air Express are reaping the benefits of the annual spring trade show once again this year, hoping to spread the word on how the company has flourished over the past year.

Stores manager Michael Handley has organized Buffalo's trade show booth for three consecutive years now. And every year public interest in their services has been growing steadily.

Buffalo has operated in the North for more than 30 years and now offers everything from charter service and equipment transport to express delivery service and aviation training.

This year's trade show exhibit will focus on the Buffalo School of Aviation, the newest addition to the Buffalo enterprise.

The first group of students to attend the school just finished their first year in April and Buffalo is aiming at another intake of 17 students this Fall. Handley says he is hoping the exposure of the Spring Trade Show will stimulate more young people about training for a career in the aviation industry.

"We like to get out there and show people our improvements. We're expanding very fast right now and over the next three years we want to run 50 students through the school per year," he said.

Buffalo now offers training programs in aircraft maintenance engineering, aircraft storesman and technical record. They are currently developing new technical and non-technical programs to support all aspects of the aviation industry such as customer service, air attack pilots and aircraft painter.

"This is going to give people the opportunity to go in at the entry level and become a baggage handler, aircraft refueller or whatever and they will all be certified courses."

"We're trying to make it so that everybody that works in the aviation industry has some sort of base level training," said Handley.

Buffalo Airways will have pilots, engineers and mechanics on hand at the trade show this weekend to answer any questions about careers in the aviation industry.