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First Air
Founded	1946
Hubs	Yellowknife Airport,; Iqaluit Airport
Frequent flyer program	Aeroplan
Fleet size	2120
Destinations	30
Headquarters	Kanata, Ontario
Key people	Scott Bateman
Website	http://www.firstair.ca

Bradley Air Services Limited, operating as First Air, is an airline headquartered in Kanata, Ontario, Canada.^[5] It operates services to 24 communities in Nunavut, Nunavik and the Northwest Territories. It also charters its fleet worldwide through brokers, freight forwarders and alliances with other carriers. Its main base is Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, with hubs at Iqaluit Airport and Yellowknife Airport.^[6]

[edit] Code data

First Air is unusual in that it is one of the few international airlines that does not have a designated ICAO call sign.^[1]

[edit] History

The airline was founded and started operations as Bradley Air Services in 1946 and is still registered under that name. First Air first started scheduled operations in 1973, between Ottawa and North Bay, Ontario. This service was operated with an eight seat passenger plane. Eventually, the airline would have southern gateways at Edmonton, Winnipeg, Montreal and Ottawa. Through Kuujjuaq, in northern Quebec, the airline provides vital services to the Inuit community, covering 16 Inuit communities with its partnership with Air Inuit. In 1995 First Air bought Ptarmigan Airways, and in 1997 it bought Northwest Territorial Airways, both of which were merged into First Air.^{[citation needed]}

First Air is wholly owned by the Inuit people of Quebec through the Makivik Corporation, who purchased the company in 1990.^[7]^[8]

On 21 August 2008 First Air fired president Bob Davis and replaced him with new president Scott Bateman. Davis had been president since December 1997 and had had several disagements with First Air over a period of time^[9]

On June 05, 2009 First Air received their first widebody aircraft in the form of a Boeing 767-223 SF (Super Freighter) which is under a 3 year dry lease from (CAM) Cargo Aircraft Management, Inc. A subsidiary of Air Transport Services Group (ATSG).

[edit] Destinations

First Air Hercules at Cambridge Bay Airport

First Air operates services to the following domestic scheduled destinations (as of March 2009^[4]^[10]):

Alberta
- Edmonton (Edmonton International Airport)

Northwest Territories
- Fort Simpson (Fort Simpson Airport)
- Hay River (Hay River Airport)
- Inuvik (Inuvik Airport)
- Ulukhaktok (Ulukhaktok/Holman Airport)
- Yellowknife (Yellowknife Airport) Hub

ATR 42 at Cambridge Bay Airport

Manitoba
- Winnipeg (Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport)

Nunavut
- Arviat (Arviat Airport)
- Baker Lake (Baker Lake Airport)
- Cambridge Bay (Cambridge Bay Airport)
- Cape Dorset (Cape Dorset Airport)
- Clyde River (Clyde River Airport)
- Gjoa Haven (Gjoa Haven Airport)
- Hall Beach (Hall Beach Airport)
- Igloolik (Igloolik Airport)
- Iqaluit (Iqaluit Airport) Hub
- Kugaaruk (Kugaaruk Airport)

First Air HS-748 at Cambridge Bay, Nunavut

First Air Boeing 767 at Val-d'Or Airport, Quebec

Ontario
- Ottawa (Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport)

Quebec
- Kuujjuaq (Kuujjuaq Airport)
- Montreal (Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport)

Yukon
- Whitehorse (Whitehorse International Airport)

[edit] Fleet

The First Air fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of March 2009):^[2]^[3]

**First Air Fleet**
Aircraft	No. of Aircraft (FAB list)^[3]	No. of Aircraft (TC list)^[2]	Variants	Notes
Aerospatiale ATR 42	8	9	ATR42-300 ATR42-320	C-FIQR, C-FIQU, C-FTCP, C-FTJB, C-GHCP, C-GKLB, C-GSRR, C-GULU, C-GUNO. Max 42 seats, combi aircraft, ice/gravel runway capable
Hawker Siddeley HS 748	2	2	Series 2 Series 2A	C-GFNW, C-GJVN. Max 40 seats, combi aircraft, ice/gravel runway capable
Boeing 727	2	2	727-200C 727-200F	C-FUFA, C-GXFA. One 200C series, max 174 seats, combi aircraft, C-GXFA is one of only 2 200C's in operation in the world, ice runway capable, one 200F series cargo aircraft only, ice runway capable
Boeing 737	6	6	737-200 737-200C	C-FACP, C-FMOC, C-FNVK, C-FNVT, C-GCPT, C-GNDC, C-GNWN. Four 200C series, max 115 seats, combi aircraft, ice/gravel runway capable, two 200 series, max 99 seats, all passenger aircraft
Boeing 767	1	1	767-223SF	C-GKLY. On June 05/2009 First Air Received their first 767-223 SF (Super Freighter) Msn-22314 Ex ABX Air N714AX Ex American Airlines N308AA.
L-382 Hercules	2	2	L-382G	C-GHPW, C-GUSI. Cargo aircraft only, ice/gravel runway capable, First Air operates the only 2 civilian Hercules in Canada

A Douglas DC-3, C-FMOC, is still listed with Transport Canada but with its certificate cancelled.^[11]

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b Transport Canada - Air Traffic Designators - TP 143 (PDF)
^ ^a ^b ^c Transport Canada listing of aircraft owned by "Bradley Air Services" (enter Bradley Air Services in the box titled "Owner Name")
^ ^a ^b ^c First Air fleet details (PDF)
^ ^a ^b First Air route map
^ ^a ^b "First Air Head Office." First Air. Retrieved on September 17, 2009.
^ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International: p. 82. 2007-04-03.
^ Backgrounders / Investment
^ About First Air
^ First Air fires president Davis
^ First Air to drop Kivalliq passenger service in September
^ C-FMOC

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: First Air

[ATD-0] Transport Canada - Air Traffic Designators - TP 143 (PDF)

[TCFleet-1] Transport Canada listing of aircraft owned by "Bradley Air Services" (enter Bradley Air Services in the box titled "Owner Name")

[fleet-2] First Air fleet details (PDF)

[dest-3] First Air route map

[head-4] "First Air Head Office." First Air. Retrieved on September 17, 2009.

[5] "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International: p. 82. 2007-04-03.

[6] Backgrounders / Investment

[7] About First Air

[8] First Air fires president Davis

[9] First Air to drop Kivalliq passenger service in September

[10] C-FMOC

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