Air Inuit (

Inuktitut syllabics Inuktitut syllabics (, or , ) is an abugida-type writing system used in Canada by the Inuktitut-speaking Inuit of the Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Nunavut and the Nunavik region of Quebec. In 1976, the Language Commission of ...

: ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᖃᖓᑦᑕᔪᖏᑦ) is an airline headquartered in the

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

borough of Saint-Laurent,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada. It operates domestic passenger services and charter and cargo services in

Nunavik Nunavik (; ; ) is an area in Canada which comprises the northern third of the province of Quebec, part of the Nord-du-Québec region and nearly coterminous with Kativik. Covering a land area of north of the 55th parallel, it is the homelan ...

, southern Quebec, and

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

. Its main base is Kuujjuaq Airport.

History

The airline was established and started operations in 1978 using a

de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined high-wing Propeller (aircraft), propeller-driven STOL, short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft developed and manufactured by de Havilland Canada. It has been primarily operated as a b ...

aircraft. The airline is collectively owned by the

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

through the

Makivik Corporation Makivvik (, ; ) (''formerly Makivik Corporation'') is the legal representative of Quebec's Inuit, established in 1978 under the terms of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, the agreement that established the institutions of Nunavik. As s ...

. In 1984 acquired Chaparal Charters and its fleet of two Twin Otters and one

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...

. In 2012, Air Inuit relocated their headquarters to a new multi-purpose facility on

Côte-Vertu Boulevard Côte-Vertu Boulevard () is a boulevard in the Saint-Laurent, Quebec, Saint-Laurent borough in Montreal, Quebec. It crosses the borough from north-east to south-west of the Air Canada Technical Center to the west of the Chomedey Highway Quebec ...

near the

Montréal–Trudeau International Airport Montréal–Trudeau International Airport () or Montréal–Trudeau, formerly known and still commonly referred to as Montréal–Dorval International Airport (''Aéroport international Montréal-Dorval''), is an international airport in Dor ...

. In 2016, Air Inuit pilot Melissa Haney became the first female Inuk pilot to reach the rank of captain. She was featured on a commemorative postage stamp released by the Canadian

Ninety-Nines The Ninety-Nines: International Organization of Women Pilots, also known as The 99s, is an international organization that provides networking, mentoring, and flight scholarship opportunities to recreational and professional female pilots. Foun ...

. In 2023, Air Inuit announced the retirement of its

Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retained the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating ...

Combi aircraft. The airline will replace the Boeing 737-200 with three Boeing 737-800 Combi aircraft.

Destinations

Air Inuit operates scheduled services to the following domestic destinations (July 2023):

Scheduled flights

Charters

Air Inuit also offers other charter services to anywhere in North America.

Fleet

Current

, the Air Inuit fleet includes the following aircraft: Air Inuit also has access to a Eurocopter Écureuil (Aerospatiale ASTAR 350) through Nunavik Rotors and a

de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter is a single-engined, high-wing, Propeller (aircraft), propeller-driven, short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada. It was conceived to be capable of performing the same role ...

through Johnny May's Air Charters. On 1 March 2016,

Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Inc. () is a Canadian aerospace manufacturer that produces business jets. Headquartered in Montreal, the company was founded in 1942 by Joseph-Armand Bombardier to market his snowmobiles, and it later became one of the world's big ...

announced that Air Inuit would be the launch customer for the

Bombardier Q300 The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, commonly known as the Dash 8, is a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners, introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was bought by Boeing in 1986, then by Bombardier in 1992, then by Longvi ...

Large Cargo Door freighter.

Former

Previously Air Inuit have also flown the following aircraft: *

Beechcraft King Air The Beechcraft King Air is a line of American utility aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The King Air line comprises a number of twin-turboprop models that have been divided into two families. The Model 90 and 100 series developed in the 1960s ...

Cessna 185 Skywagon The Cessna 185 Skywagon is a six-seat, single-engined, general aviation light aircraft manufactured by Cessna. It first flew as a prototype in July 1960, with the first production model completed in March 1961. The Cessna 185 is a high-winge ...

Cessna 421 The Cessna 421 Golden Eagle is an American six or seven seat twin-engined light transport aircraft, developed in the 1960s by Cessna as a pressurized version of the earlier Cessna 411. Development The Cessna 421 was first produced in May 1967 ...

* Convair Liner 340 (580) * Convair 440 (580) *

Grumman Gulfstream I The Grumman Gulfstream I (company designation G-159) is a twin-turboprop business aircraft. It first flew on August 14, 1958. Design and development After first rejecting an idea to develop the Grumman Widgeon as an executive transport, the co ...

(G-159) *

Hawker Siddeley HS 748 The Hawker Siddeley HS 748 (formerly Avro HS 748) is a medium-sized turboprop airliner originally designed and initially produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Avro. It was the last aircraft to be developed by Avro prior to its absorptio ...

Accidents and incidents

*On 16 March 1981,

Douglas C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for tro ...

, C-FIRW, was damaged beyond repair when it broke through the frozen surface of Lake Bienville while taxiing for take-off on a cargo flight.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Regional airlines of Quebec Airlines established in 1978 Regional airlines of Nunavut Companies based in Montreal Inuit transport Dorval