Although it’s been operating from Thompson for about a year, North Star Air hosted its official grand opening ceremony Aug. 18 at their new facility on North Hangar Road.
In addition to industry big wigs and local politicians, the airline also encouraged members of the public to come out with a barbecue, live music, a plane-pull competition and other family-centric activities.
Not only was this event designed to communicate the fact that North Star Air is open for business as a direct competitor to Calm Air and Perimeter Aviation, but it also served as an opportunity to show off the company’s new $5.5 million hangar.
“We’ve been operating out of a temporary hangar owned by the Thompson Airport Authority and it’s been very challenging,” said Wren Wilson of North Star Air. “It’s not ramp-side, so we’ve had two five-ton trucks break down the loads ... and drive them down to another ramp. Now, with this new facility, we won’t have to do that, because we can load our planes right outside our hangar just like everybody else.”
While Wilson admitted that they still have to put a few finishing touches on the base in the fall, this public event still represents a big milestone in the company’s history.
Until recently, North Star Air’s operations were limited to providing passenger flights, charter services and cargo delivery to remote communities in Northern Ontario.
After being acquired by the North West Company in June 2017, the Thunder Bay-based airline expanded its reach into Manitoba, with the first major piece of infrastructure set up in the Hub of the North.
Right now, North Star Air has 25 staff on its payroll in Thompson and delivers to over 50 northern communities in Manitoba, Ontario and Nunavut.
Although they don’t offer any passenger flights in Thompson right now, just cargo delivery services, Wilson said that part of his job as a business development and marketing representative is to figure out how to help this airline take that next big step.
“I’ve been doing some market research for the past two months and I’ve still got quite a ways to go,” he said. “In two to three months from now I can finally put a report down with management.”
This new player has the potential to shake up regional air transport services, since Calm Air and Perimeter Aviation, which have been owned by Exchange Income Corporation since 2004 and 2009, respectively, are the only airlines currently offering scheduled passenger flights from Thompson to Winnipeg and surrounding communities.
Because of this lack of competition, Wilson said that Calm Air has let their prices surge and customer service dip in quality, which has left Northern Manitobans hungry for an alternative.
“What we’ve been hearing from the community is that they’d definitely be welcoming a change from the traditional Calm Air and Perimeter [Aviation] services, so they’re excited to see some new blood in the region,” he said.
