THUNDER BAY – Wasaya Airways is entering a new aircraft era – one company officials hope will drive down the cost of goods flown into Northern Ontario communities.
The airline on Monday unveiled its first Dash 8-100PF cargo plane and its 4,535-kilogram payload, naming the aircraft after the late Bearskin Lake First Nation’s Paul Beardy, continuing a long-standing tradition of the Aboriginal-owned airline in christening its fleet acquisitions after community elders.
Company president and CEO Michael Rodyniuk said with the airline’s fleet coming up for renewal, they thought long and hard about what they needed in a replacement aircraft to take over from the soon-to-be retired Hawker Siddeley 748s.
The Dash 8 made the most sense for passengers and freight, he said.
“This aircraft is about 40 per cent of the operating cost of a 748,” Rodyniuk said. “It’s 60 per cent more effective than the Hawker, which gives us a much more cost-effective solution for moving goods into the north.
“And that’s the name of the game, getting the costs down for the people in the communities in the north.”
Rodyniuk said many of the 27 communities serviced by Wasaya Airways have been relying more and more on air freight to deliver goods to the north. He noted winter roads were open less than three weeks in some locations this year, which he attributed to climate change.
He’s hoping the new planes can help reduce the cost of those goods – which include basic necessities like food, as well as building materials and all-terrain vehicles – by as much as 30 per cent.
Wasaya could be operating as many as four of the aircraft by year’s end.
Beardy, who pushed for the airline’s creation and served on its board before he died, was the ideal candidate to name the plane after, said Wasay’s board chairman Adam Fiddler.
“As a child growing up in a neighbouring community, Paul Beardy was a bit of a legend, someone who overcame a lot of obstacles in life and challenges. Life wasn’t easy, but he was able to go out, work very hard to support his wife, his family, children and grandchildren … and provide a good life for his family and his community and his future. And that’s what this airline is all about,” Fiddler said.
Beardy’s widow Irene was on hand for Monday’s blessing of the aircraft and thanked the airline for honouring her late husband.
