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Bradley Air Services Limited, operating as First Air, is an airline headquartered in Kanata, a suburb of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.〔"(First Air Head Office )." First Air. Retrieved on 13 January 2012. "20 Cope Drive Kanata, Ontario Canada, K2M 2V8"〕 It operates services to 34 communities in Nunavut, Nunavik, and the Northwest Territories.〔 The majority of its fleet is available for charters worldwide. First Air has assisted in various humanitarian missions such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, airlifting relief supplies and equipment. Its main base, which includes a large hangar, cargo and maintenance facility, is located at Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, with hubs at Iqaluit Airport, Rankin Inlet Airport and Yellowknife Airport. == History == The airline was founded by Canadian aviation pioneer Russel (Russ) Bradley 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. This service was operated with an eight-seat passenger plane. The airline opened southern gateways at Edmonton, Winnipeg, Montreal and Ottawa. Through Kuujjuaq in Nunavik and Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories (NWT), the airline provides services to 26 Inuit communities in Nunavut, Nunavik and the NWT.〔 Service to Sanikiluaq, Nunavut is provided in partnership with Air Inuit. In 1995, First Air bought Ptarmigan Airways, and in 1997 it bought Northwest Territorial Airways (also known as NWT Air), both of which were merged into First Air. Ptarmigan Airways operated smaller turboprop aircraft types such as the Beechcraft King Air (BE-200 model), de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Turbine Beaver, DHC-6 Twin Otter and Grumman Gulfstream I propjets in addition to Cessna Citation business jet aircraft. Northwest Territorial operated Boeing 737-200 jetliners, Lockheed L-188 Electra propjets, Lockheed L-100 Hercules cargo turboprops and Douglas DC-3s. In 2011, First Air celebrated its 65th anniversary. First Air is wholly owned by the Inuit people of Quebec through the Makivik Corporation, who purchased the company in 1990. 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 several disagreements with First Air over a period of time. On 5 June 2009, First Air received a wide-body aircraft, a Boeing 767-223 SF (Super Freighter), which was under a three-year dry lease from (CAM) Cargo Aircraft Management, a subsidiary of Air Transport Services Group (ATSG). According to the First Air website, the airline no longer operates Boeing 767 aircraft.〔http://www.firstair.ca〕 After the introduction of the operationally and logistically more economical Boeing 767-223SF in March 2010, First Air retired and removed its two Boeing 727-233 aircraft from its fleet. One was one of only two combi types in the world, and the last 727-200 in North America on scheduled passenger-freight services. The other 727-233F full freighter has also been phased out. A Hawker Siddeley HS 748 turboprop (C-GFNW) was retired as of March 2011. Replacing this aircraft type are two Aérospatiale ATR 72 Combi turboprops as part of First Air's fleet replacement program. They are outfitted with a cargo handling system, and one is outfitted with a large cargo door. A first of its kind in North America, it is able to handle built Unit Load Device positions. This in turn will create a larger load capacity and flexibility reaching remote communities. One has come online the last quarter of 2011, and the second in the first quarter 2012. In February 2011, First Air and Qikiqtaaluk Corporation (QC) started a new airline named Qikiqtani First Aviation. The new company provides services throughout Nunavut's Qikiqtani Region using First Air’s fleet. Another airline, Sakku First Aviation, was started the same time in partnership with Sakku Investments Corporation in Nunavut's Kivalliq Region. In December 2011, Scott Bateman, President and CEO, abruptly resigned his position with First Air. Kris Dolinki became President and CEO after Bateman's departure. In October 2012, Dolinki resigned his position as President and CEO of First Air. This announcement came shortly after Makivik Corporation stated that after many rumours its stake in First Air was not for sale. The position of President and CEO was filled on an interim basis by Chris Ferris, First Air's Vice President of Marketing & Sales. In March 2013, First Air/Makivik Corporation announced it had hired Brock Friesen as its new President and CEO. On April 11, 2014, the Makivik Corporation and Norterra, owners of Canadian North announced that they were in negotiations to merge the two airlines.〔(Canadian North, First Air plan 'merger of equals' )〕〔(Arctic airlines First Air and Canadian North talk merger )〕 According to a website set up the same day the new airline would be owned equally between the two companies and "a merger would create a stronger, more sustainable business, provide better service to customers and lead to new economic development opportunities across the North. We believe the two companies would complement each other’s strengths."〔(Canada’s Northern Airlines Enter Merger Discussions )〕 In October 2014, it was announced the merger would not go through.〔(Airlines announce First Air-Canadian North merger is dead )〕 In early 2015 First Air announced strategic agreements with Cargojet Airways and Summit Air. The 767 lease was transferred to Cargojet at that time and First Air is now providing ATR Turboprop services to Cargojet. On April 21, 2015, First Air Hercules C-GUSI flew the final civilian L382 flight in Canada, bringing to an end over 45 years of commercial Lockheed Hercules service. L382 Hercules operations in Northern Canada commenced during the 1960s and were initially flown by Pacific Western Airlines. In 2016 First Air/Bradley Air Services will celebrate its 70th anniversary, and is the oldest airline in Canada still operating under its original name. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「First Air」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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