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New jet speeds up service Nicole Veerman Northern News Services Published Wednesday, September 7, 2011
The inaugural Calm Air flight, featuring a Dornier 328 jet, from Winnipeg to Rankin Inlet, and back, was Sept. 1. Craig Hoffman, vice president of flight operations, was on board the morning flight to Rankin and took the return trip home to Winnipeg in the afternoon. "It was great. The people getting off the plane seemed to really enjoy the flight. They enjoyed their hot breakfast this morning and a nice coffee. It was good," he said. The new service will be operating Monday through Friday, reducing flying time from all of Calm Air's Nunavut destinations that connect through Rankin to Winnipeg. "I think people are really going to enjoy the service and the reduced travel time. We were two hours and two minutes this morning coming from Winnipeg to Rankin, so that shaved an hour and 15 minutes off our previous time and we're really excited about that," Hoffman said. He said it's a great new service, with passengers getting breakfast on the flight to Rankin in the morning and lunch on the flight to Winnipeg in the afternoon. "And you arrive in time for supper in Winnipeg," he said. The Dornier 328 has 32 seats. On the first flight to Rankin, there were 21 passengers. The flight will initially operate as part of an aircraft wet lease arrangement - where an airline provides an aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance to another airline. In the future, Calm Air intends to purchase its own jet aircraft and operate the service with its own flight crew and personnel. "Our new jet service into Nunavut is an indicator of how the region has grown and how committed Calm Air is to providing the best service possible," Gary Beaurivage, president of Calm Air, stated in a press release.
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