Rankin Inlet (Mar 08/06) - A total of six full-time jobs have moved to Rankin Inlet as a result of Keewatin Air's decision to relocate its reservation centre to Rankin from Winnipeg.

The move becomes effective March 15.

Keewatin Air president and chief executive officer Bob May said he's pleased to move the reservation centre to Rankin.

"Rankin is the hub of our operation and having operational and customer service decisions made in the region just makes sense," said May.

"It's a good move for us and the community, and it will be great for our clients."

Keewatin Air Northern base manager John McFee said the centre's move to Rankin has been aided by a great deal of co-operation from a number of organizations. He said Nunavut Airports has been quite supportive of the airline's efforts.

"Public and private enterprise have greeted the news enthusiastically," said McFee.

"As residents, we have a great deal of interest in being a part of the growth of the region."

Personnel moves in Winnipeg presented the opportunity for the move.

Two pilots who had worked on the ground for a year were ready to join the flight line, an agent was promoted and moved to Churchill, and another was interested in moving to Rankin with her family.

Faced with restaffing almost its entire department, the airline decided the time was right to move the centre to Rankin.

McFee said another factor in the company's decision was high-speed Internet now being available in Rankin.

He said once established, the Rankin centre will greatly improve communications.

"We had two offices in the main terminal building at the Rankin airport, so a wall was removed between them to create one space to run the operation from.

"A number of travellers in the region have looked to Rankin for help and information in the past.

"With the reservation office in Winnipeg, we often had to act as a go-between and this will remove that layer of communication to allow decisions to be made here.

"Having that direct contact with our clientele is something our staff is looking forward to with this move."