First Air drops Resolute jet service

Jet service to Resolute Bay will be discontinued by First Air as of Dec. 11, raising questions about the airline’s future presence in the High Arctic.

“Times are changing,” said Aziz Kheraj, Resolute’s former mayor and owner of the South Camp Inn. He remembers when jets serviced Resolute six days a week, during the 1970s and ‘80s.

Because most of his business happens during the summer, he says he’ll have to wait to see the full effect of the changes.

Boeing 727 jets currently fly from Iqaluit to Nanisivik to Resolute and back twice a week. Those planes will soon retire, to be replaced with smaller, aging Hawker 748 turboprops, which will fly the route four times a week.

Even with double the flights, the maximum payload for aircraft bound for Resolute will drop to just over half of the current capacity, from 82,000 pounds to 42,000 pounds a week.

The older 748s are also only half as fast as the 727s, capable of airspeeds of 250 miles an hour, against the 727’s speed of 535 miles an hour. The slower speed means passengers will spend an hour and 40 minutes more in the air during a flight from Iqaluit to Resolute, from four hours and 10 minutes to five hours and 50 minutes.

Speculation surrounds the purpose of these changes as a cost-saving measure, and how they relate to the company’s bid on Canada Post’s massive food mail contract.

Jim Ballingall, First Air’s vice president of marketing and sales, said the new schedule provides more flexibility for passengers, and for residents waiting for fresh produce or other cargo.

Bleary-eyed passengers may disagree. Two of the flights leaving Resolute will soon arrive in Iqaluit at the late hour of 11:25 p.m., hours later than now. There will now be only one regular connection from Resolute to Ottawa per week.

Air traffic has fallen since Resolute and Nanisivik both saw the closing of nearby lead-zinc mines in 2002, cutting demand for flights. But hundreds of scientists flock to the High Arctic every year to conduct research. With the federal government prepared to throw $150 million at Polar Year activities in 2007 and 2008, these numbers will rise.

The existing First Air schedule already pushes its planes to capacity during peak months of the year, July and August. A Friday flight to Resolute will be added during those months.

Marty Kuluguqtuq of Grise Fiord said he’s concerned his community will become more isolated when the jets stop.

Right now it takes an hour and a half to fly from Grise to Resolute by Twin Otter, but he’s concerned that waits and slower planes will add up to an extra five or six hours. “That’s almost a whole day.”

“Obviously, I think a lot of people are displeased with the discontinuation of the jet service.

“All in all, I guess we have no choice.”

The replacement 748s, which will now serve the High Arctic, were taken out of service this summer, and are on the company’s list of planes to be permanently grounded one day.

First Air plans to eventually service the Baffin and High Arctic regions with ATR 42-300 turboprops, which are more roomy, comfortable and speedy than the 748s, Ballingall said. But first there are a few obstacles.

One is that Pangnirtung’s existing airstrip is currently too short for the ATRs to land.

On Dec. 11 First Air will also begin flying passengers and cargo separately on the Iqaluit-Ottawa route. That means more leg room for passengers on that route, Ballingall said.