Taking Flight

Despite being twice the size of the United Kingdom, the Yukon only has a population of 45,000 residents. It is easy to see how a reliable and affordable airline, able to transport goods and people around the vast territory, is a Yukon necessity.

The company works hard to be deserving of its official name: 'Air North, Yukon's Airline' — knowing they are not only operating in a small community but operating for that community.

"We care about the people we move from A to B," Debra says. "Yukoners are our core customer. They are our neighbours, our friends, our kids go to school with them, our grandkids play together."

Debra is one of the company's longest-serving employees. She moved to Whitehorse from Peterborough, Ontario as a teenager and began working at Air North in the late 1990s, a time when the company's fleet was still powered with piston engines.

Over the years Air North has grown into one of the largest private sector employers in the territory with a fleet that not only services the communities throughout the territory but also flies to other provinces such as British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.

"Our customers are very loyal and we don't have these snazzy loyalty programs like the big national and international carriers do," Debra says. "We just offer the best service, the best schedule, the best affordability."

When Air North first launched as a company in 1977, owners Joe Sparling and Tom 'Ace' Wood had a handful of Cessnas and plans to run charters and training.

Instrumental to its growth has been constant community support. When Air North turned 40 back in 2017, Joe — who continues to serve as the company president — wrote a letter outlining just how much the company has relied on its community over the years. You can read it in full here.

He pointed to pivotal moments in the company's history, including when his partner Tom sold his shares to the Vuntut Gwich'in First Nation and when he (Joe) opened up the company to private investors. Today, one out of every 15 Yukoners owns an equity stake in the airline.

Every year, the company invests back into its community, providing sponsorship for sports, culture, education and elders programming.

"All sorts of causes here in the Yukon that are very meaningful to this society and culture," Debra says. "And that are helping build better community and improve life for as many people as we can."

That sense of community translates to the customer service offered onboard. Travellers don't pay extra for things like checked bags or meals on flight.

Travellers are served with light snacks and meals created in the company's Whitehorse Flight Kitchen under the leadership of Chef Michael Bock. These meals have proven so popular that they are now sold in Whitehorse grocery stores.

Perhaps the most popular part of the service is the warm chocolate chip cookies. Baked fresh daily in the Whitehorse kitchens, they are warmed in ovens aboard the planes.

"The aroma of the cookies baking in the cabin is irresistible," Debra says. "They are delicious."

Being an airline that is owned and operated by and for Yukoners means that the company can be responsive to the needs of the community.

While most national airlines are focused on the east-west corridor, Air North is focused on north-south service and providing affordable airfare to a community that often needs to travel long distances for work, school, family and medical services.

"The small population up here has benefitted tremendously from our small airline providing that service," Debra says.

Jidii nakhwats’oo gogwijiłcheii nakhwadrii ts’at tr’agwanah’in. It is truly a vision that the heart sees.