Ryan Air, Inc., is an American

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

that serves over 70 villages in Bush Alaska out of hubs in

Anchorage Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...

, Aniak,

Bethel Bethel (, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; ; ) was an ancient Israelite city and sacred space that is frequently mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Bet ...

, Emmonak, Kotzebue,

Nome Nome may refer to: Country subdivision * Nome (Egypt), an administrative division within ancient Egypt * Nome (Greece), the administrative division immediately below the ''peripheries of Greece'' (, pl. ) Places United States * Nome, Alaska ...

, St. Mary's, and Unalakleet. Offering primarily cargo services, Ryan Air also operates scheduled passenger service out of Aniak, and passenger or cargo charters throughout Alaska.

History

Ryan Air was established in 1953 as Unalakleet Air Taxi by Wilfred Ryan Sr. as a charter airline. In the 1960s, the company began handling

USPS The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...

mail delivery and transportation of schoolteachers for the Bureau of Indian Affairs between communities along the lower

Yukon River The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. From its source in British Columbia, it flows through Canada's territory of Yukon (itself named after the river). The lower half of the river continues westward through the U.S ...

. In 1977, Wilfred P. Ryan Jr. took over the company after his father died of cancer. In 1979, the company expanded service beyond the

Norton Sound The Norton Sound ( Inupiaq: ''Imaqpak'') is an inlet of the Bering Sea on the western coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, south of the Seward Peninsula. It is about 240 km (150 mi) long and 200 km (125 mi) wide. The Yukon Riv ...

and changed their name to Ryan Air. With a new fleet of Beech 1900s and Beech 99s, Ryan Air grew to the largest commuter carrier in Alaska by 1987, serving 85 cities and villages with a fleet of 28 planes. However, a series of 12 accidents, culminating in a fatal crash of flight 103 on 23 November 1987 that killed 18 of the 21 people on board, led the FAA to shut down the airline in January 1988. In the 1990s, Ryan Air converted to a cargo-only airline and changed their name to Arctic Transportation Services (ATS), adding

CASA 212 The CASA C-212 Aviocar is a turboprop-powered STOL medium cargo aircraft designed and built by Spanish aircraft manufacturer Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA). It is designed for use by both civil and military operators. The C-212 was d ...

cargo planes to their fleet. They changed their name back to Ryan Air in 2010. In 2011, Ryan Air began passenger charters out of Anchorage, using a newly acquired

Pilatus PC-12 The Pilatus PC-12 is a pressurized, single-engined, turboprop aircraft manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Stans, Switzerland since 1991. It was designed as a high-performance utility aircraft that incorporates a large aft cargo door in addi ...

. In 2014, Ryan Air resumed regularly scheduled passenger services out of Aniak, AK using their Cessna 207 aircraft. In 2015 Ryan Air acquired a fifth

. In 2017 Ryan Air adds 2 SAAB 340s, based in Anchorage, to their fleet. In 2019 Lee Ryan is appointed as President of Ryan Air, Inc. In December 2022 Ryan Air was acquired by Saltchuk. In June 2024 Ryan Air acquired a fourth Cessna 208 EX

Destinations

Ryan Air Services maintains the following scheduled passenger routes (as of January 2021): ''From/to Aniak'' * Aniak - Holy Cross - Anvik - Grayling - Shageluk - Aniak * Aniak - Kalskag - Russian Mission - Aniak * Aniak - Chuathbaluk - Crooked Creek - Sleetmute - Stony River - Aniak * Aniak - Bethel - Aniak (non-stop) * Aniak - Anchorage - Aniak (non-stop) ''From/to Bethel'' * Bethel - Chevak - Hooper Bay - Scammon Bay - Bethel * Bethel - Mekoryuk - Toksook Bay - Tununak - Bethel * Bethel - Atmautluak - Marhsall - St. Mary's * Bethel - Aniak (non-stop) * Aniak - Bethel (non-stop) ''From/to Anchorage'' * Anchorage - Aniak - Anchorage (non-stop)

Fleet

, the Ryan Air Services fleet consists of 20 aircraft, including:

Former fleet

Ryan air has operated the following types of aircraft in the past:

Accident

On 23 November, 1987, Ryan Air Service Flight 103, a

Beechcraft 1900C The Beechcraft 1900 is a U.S made twin-engine turboprop regional airliner manufactured by Beechcraft. It is also used as a freight aircraft and corporate transport, and by several governmental and military organizations. With customers favoring ...

operating a domestic flight in

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

from Kodiak Airport to Homer Airport, crashed near the runway at Homer Airport, while approaching it. 18 of the 21 people on board were killed. It was determined that the cause of the crash was an improper loading, which led to a loss of control during landing.

References

External links

*
NTSB Aircraft Accident Report for Flight 103
{{Authority control 1953 establishments in Alaska Airlines established in 1953 Cargo airlines of the United States Charter airlines of the United States Companies based in Anchorage, Alaska Airlines based in Alaska