First Air eyes rival NWT Air

The competition in northern skies may soon be reduced as First Air considers extending its monopoly.

By NUNATSIAQ NEWS

DWANE WILKIN

Executives at First Air Corp. should know within two weeks whether they’ll go ahead with an offer to buy NWT Air from Air Canada.

The airline has been looking at NWT Air’s financial statements, including the value of its assets and liabilities, since the middle of March.

That’s necessary before they put together a formal bid.

“I can confirm that First Air has expressed interest in potentially acquiring NWT Air,” Air Canada spokesperson Sandi Dexter said Wednesday.

“They have not, however, made any offer.”

The eastern Arctic carrier, with 700 employees and revenues reported to be around $110 million last year, is now undertaking a due diligence review of NWT Air’s operations.

“If we did make an offer we’d want to make sure there are no surprises sitting out there for us,” said Bill Campbell, First air’s director of human resources.

First Air already enjoys a monopoly on freight and passenger service to and from Montreal and Ottawa.

Owned by Nunavik’s Makivik Corporation, First Air flies to communities across Nunavut and northern Quebec and has added connections in recent years to Whitehorse, Yellowknife, Gjoa Haven, Cambridge Bay, Pelly Bay, Rankin Inlet, Coppermine and Resolute.

Air Canada and First Air also cooperate closely under joint reservations and marketing agreements.

NWT Air operates regular connections between Yellowknife, Rankin Inlet, Cambridge Bay and Inuvik, plus twice-weekly service to Iqaluit.

It also offers direct flights from Rankin Inlet to Winnipeg, from Yellowknife to Edmonton, and a weekly flight to Vancouver.

Absorption of NWT Air’s western routes would allow First Air to extend its monopoly across the Canadian Arctic.

“We consider ourselves the premier carrier in the Northwest Territories, certainly in the North. So anybody who flies up there is definitely attractive to us,” Campbell said.

NWT Air had operating revenues of roughly $50 million in 1996, president Mark Winders said, and employs about 200 people.

The airline began life as a cargo operation and was bought by Air Canada in the late 1980s.

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