Wasaya Airways

Wasaya Airways
IATA ICAO Callsign
WT WSG[1] WASAYA
Founded 1989
Hubs Thunder Bay International Airport,
Sioux Lookout Airport
Fleet size 20[2]
Destinations 26[3] 28[4]
Company slogan 'Experience WASAYA'
Parent company Wasaya Group Inc.
Headquarters Thunder Bay, Ontario
Key people Michael Rodyniuk (President)
Website www.wasaya.com

Wasaya Airways LP (or in Oji-Cree ᐙᐦᓭᔮ ᐱᒥᐦᓭᐎᐣ (Waaseyaa Bimisewin); unpointed: ᐗᓭᔭ ᐱᒥᓭᐎᐣ) is a 51% First Nations owned domestic airline with its headquarters in Thunder Bay, Northern Ontario, Canada.[5] Its main hubs are the Thunder Bay International Airport and the Sioux Lookout Airport, however, it also offers a charter and cargo service from a base in Red Lake and Pickle Lake. In 2003, Wasaya Airways bought the rights to serve remote First Nations communities from Bearskin Airlines. The airline also supplies food, clothing, hardware and other various supplies to 25 remote communities in Ontario.

Established in 1989, the name "Wasaya" comes from the Oji-Cree language, which means "it is bright" in English, in reference to the brightness of the rising Sun. The airline has grown over the years starting off as a floatplane operation to now a charter and scheduled passenger service airline. Its inflight magazine Sagatay is published in conjunction with Wawatay Native Communications Society. In October 2010, the company purchased a Bombardier Dash 8 to bolster its fleet.

Destinations

2 Beechcraft 1900D's of Wasaya Airways at Sioux Lookout Airport
Pilatus PC-12 of Wasaya Airways at Pickle Lake Airport
HS748 "806" parked in front of the Red Lake hangar
Cessna 208B C-FKAD in Red Lake

Scheduled services[3]

Other destinations[6]

Fleet

As of November 2016 Wasaya Airways had the following 23 aircraft registered with Transport Canada.[2]

Wasaya Airways
AircraftNumberVariantsIdentsNotes[7]
Avro 7483Series 2AFFFS, GLTC, GMAAFreight and bulk fuel only, also known as the "Hawker Siddeley 748"
Dash 8 - 1022 (as of August 2017)[8]Series 100GJSV37 passengers
Dash 8 - 100(PF)2 (as of August 2017)[8]Series 100
Dash 8 - 3141(as of August 2017)[8]Series 300GMWT50 passengers - Owned and operated for Goldcorp
Beechcraft 1900D Airliner81900DFQWA, FWAU, FWAX, FWZK, GSWA, GZVJ, GWOV, GWOX15-19 passengers
Cessna 208B Caravan3208BFKAD, FKDL, FPCC, FWAW, FHWA9 passengers
Pilatus PC-124PC12-45FKPI, FWAF, FWAV, FWAQ, GBJV, GZGZ 9 passengers

Accidents and incidents

  • On 6 August 1998, Wasaya Airways Flight 804 was a British Aerospace BAe-748 that overran the runway at Kasabonika Airport injuring all 4 crew.
  • On 11 September 2003, a Cessna 208B Caravan of Wasaya Airways Flight 125 crashed near Summer Beaver killing all 8 persons on board. The flight originated in Pickle Lake and was scheduled to land at Summer Beaver Airport, but the airplane crashed and burned 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) short of the runway. The Transportation Safety Board was unable to determine the cause.[9]
  • 12 June 2012 - A Wasaya Airways Hawker-Siddley 748 caught fire during ground operations at Sandy Lake First Nation in Northwestern Ontario. No injuries were reported. Aircraft burned to the ground, only the left wing and nacelle survived.
  • 11 December 2015 - Wasaya Airways Flight 127, a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, while en route from Pickle Lake Airport, ON (YPL/CYPL) to Angling Lake/Wapekeka Airport, ON (YAX) crashed approximately 28km NE of Pickle Lake Airport. The pilot was the sole occupant and was unfortunately killed in the crash. The probable cause for the accident was flying in known or forecast icing conditions although the aircraft was prohibited from doing that, and a high take-off weight that increased the severity of degraded performance when the flight encountered icing conditions.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Transport Canada - Air Traffic Designators - TP 143 (PDF)
  2. 1 2 Transport Canada listing of aircraft owned by "Wasaya Airways" (enter Wasaya Airways in the box titled "Owner Name")
  3. 1 2 Wasaya Airways main page
  4. ↑ Wasaya Airways online booking
  5. ↑ "Directory." Wasaya Airways. Retrieved on April 14, 2011. "Administration and General Inquiries Head Office Thunder Bay" and "300 Anemki Place, Suite B, RR#4, Thunder Bay, Ontario, P7J 1H9"
  6. ↑ Wasaya Airways "Where We Fly..."
  7. ↑ Wasaya Airways Fleet
  8. 1 2 3 "Global Airline Guide 2017 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2017): 9. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  9. ↑ "Aviation Investigation Report A03H0002". Transportation Safety Board of Canada. 2013-04-24. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  10. ↑ "Aviation Safety Network, Wasaya Flight 127".
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