Pacific Coastal Airlines

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Pacific Coastal
137px
IATA ICAO Callsign
8P PCO PASCO
Founded 1987
Hubs Vancouver International Airport
Port Hardy Airport
Fleet size 25[1]
Destinations 16[2]
Headquarters Vancouver International Airport
Richmond, British Columbia
Key people Smith family
Website http://www.pacificcoastal.com

Pacific Coastal Airlines Ltd is a Canadian airline that operates scheduled, charter and cargo services to destinations in British Columbia. Its head office is located in the South Terminal of Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia.[3] Its main base is Vancouver International Airport, with a hub at Port Hardy Airport.

History

Grumman G-21 Goose of Pacific Coastal Airlines at Vancouver Airport in 2008

The original Pacific Coastal Airlines was established in the 1960s, operating from its base at Cassidy Airport, now Nanaimo Airport, near Nanaimo.[4] In early 1980, the airline was acquired by Jim Pattison Industries and absorbed into Airwest Airlines, also recently acquired by Pattison.[5] At the time of the acquisition, Pacific Coastal was operating on the Nanaimo-Vancouver, Victoria-Nanaimo-Comox-Campbell River-Port Hardy, and Nanaimo-Qualicum-Port Alberni routes.[6] On November 1, 1980, Airwest and several other local airlines recently acquired by Pattison were merged into Air BC.[7]

The current Pacific Coastal Airlines was established in 1987 by the merger of Powell Air and the Port Hardy division of Air BC.[8] It acquired the shares and assets of Wilderness Airlines on April 1, 1998. As of 2015, it has over 300 employees.[9]

Destinations

A Pacific Coastal Airlines Shorts 360 on the ground at Bella Bella, British Columbia

Pacific Coastal Airlines operates services to the following destinations in British Columbia:[2]

Fleet

A Beechcraft 1900C, flown by Pacific Coastal Airlines, landing at Vancouver International Airport

As of November 2015, the Pacific Coastal Airlines fleet consisted of 24 aircraft:[1][10]

Pacific Coastal Airlines
Aircraft Count Variants Notes
Beechcraft 1900 7 1900C 19 passengers, based in Vancouver
Beechcraft Super King Air 1 200 8 passengers, based in Vancouver
Cessna 185 1 C-185 3 passengers, based in Port Hardy
de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver 4 DHC-2, DHC-2 MK. I 4 passengers, based in Port Hardy
Grumman Goose 4 G-21A 9 Passengers, Based in Port Hardy
Saab 340 4 340A 30 passengers, based in Vancouver
Saab 340 3 340B 34 passengers, based in Vancouver

Incidents and accidents

  • On August 3, 2008, a Grumman G-21 Goose aircraft with seven passengers and crew crashed during a flight from Port Hardy to Chamiss Bay. The aircraft was completely destroyed by a fire. There were only two survivors.[11]
  • On November 16, 2008 a Grumman Goose aircraft with 8 passengers and crew crashed during a flight from Vancouver International Airport to Toba Inlet, BC. The plane exploded into a mass of burning wreckage according to the lone survivor. This person was rescued up by the Coast Guard on South Thormanby Island off British Columbia's Sunshine Coast.[12][13][14][15]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Canadian Civil Aircraft Register Retrieved February 2015
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pacific Coastal Airlines: Destinations Retrieved February 2015
  3. ↑ "Contact Us." Pacific Coastal Airlines. Retrieved on December 4, 2011. "Pacific Coastal Airlines Head Office Vancouver International Airport - South Terminal 4440 Cowley Crescent Unit 204 Richmond BC V7B 1B8"
  4. ↑ FLIGHT International. March 20, 1976, p.703.
  5. ↑ Ladysmith-Chemainus Chronicle (Ladysmith, British Columbia). February 6, 1980, p.17
  6. ↑ North Island Gazette (Port Hardy, British Columbia). February 20, 1980, p.15
  7. ↑ FLIGHT International. November 7, 1981, p.1388.
  8. ↑ Schofield, Jack. A Pilot's Journey Log: Daryl Smith and Pacific Coastal Airlines. Mayne Island, BC: CoastDog Press, 2010.
  9. ↑ About
  10. ↑ Pacific Coastal Airlines: Fleet Retrieved on 15 November 2015
  11. ↑ CBC: Investigators head to site of B.C. plane crash that killed 5 3 August 2008
  12. ↑ CBC: 7 Dead In Plane Crash Off B.C. Coast 16 November 2008
  13. ↑ Vancouver Sun: Thick fog may be to blame for B.C. crash 17 November 2008
  14. ↑ Daily Commercial News: Victims of Thormanby Island plane crash identified 19 November 2008
  15. ↑ CTV: A look inside the doomed B.C. plane 17 November 2008

External links

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