Page "First Air" Paragraph 5

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.

Eventually, the airline would have 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, both of which were merged into First Air.

In 2011, First Air celebrated its 65th anniversary.