By Skies Magazine | January 29, 2016 Estimated reading time 4 minutes, 42 seconds.
FlySarvaq is a partnership between Iqaluit-based Sarvaq Aviation, a remote site logistics support service, and Nolinor Aviation, a commercial charter company. Katrine Laframboise Photo
On May 6, a new air service will begin providing direct flights between Iqaluit and two destinations in southern Canada, Ottawa and Halifax.
FlySarvaq is a partnership between Iqaluit-based Sarvaq Aviation, a remote site logistics support service, and Nolinor Aviation, a commercial charter company that, among other aircraft, operates Boeing 737s across the North.
“It is our hope that this service will create significant possibilities for Nunavummiut looking to travel south, as well as open up more opportunities for people to visit Nunavut,” Adamee Itorcheak, president of Sarvaq, told guests during a reception at the 2016 Northern Lights Trade Show in Ottawa on Jan. 28.
At a price point that is almost half the typical fare between Iqaluit and southern Canadian cities, he said the “fair and affordable” introductory one-way rate of $499, which includes taxes and fees, would generate business and tourism opportunities in all three destinations and help Nunavummiut reach medical appointments and visit friends and family.
“Weekend fishing trips can be further and more exotic,” he joked to the room of more than 150 people, including provincial and territorial government representatives and officials from the business communities and airport authorities.
FlySarvaq will operate on Mondays to and from Ottawa, and on Fridays to and from both Ottawa and Halifax. “We have built a schedule that links with the airlines serving the smaller communities, so it will be easier and cheaper to get south,” Itorcheak said.
Brian Tattuinee, director of network operations with Sarvaq, poses with a Nolinor plane. Outcrop Nunavut Photo
The service will offer three classes of fares “that will be cheaper than any that are currently in the market on these routes,” he noted. FlySarvaq will begin accepting bookings on March 1 at its multilingual website, www.flysarvaq.com.
To help the service take flight quickly, Itorcheak asked for the support of Nunavummiut when making their summer and fall travel plans.
Though the service opens up opportunities for personal travel, many noted the economic development opportunities that the direct flights could provide.
Joel Tkach, vice president of business development and marketing for the Ottawa International Airport Authority, said the airport regularly processes approximately 7,000 passengers and 10 metric tonnes of cargo per year to and from Iqaluit, so “we are thrilled to do our part to help drive the economy of the North.”
“This direct link allows Nova Scotia companies to ship goods and deliver services to customers in Nunavut faster and at a reduced cost then they used to,” said former Ontario cabinet minister Laurel Broten, who is now president of Nova Scotia Business Inc. “FlySarvaq’s new passenger and cargo service only strengthens our relationship.”
While the air service marks a new direction for Sarvaq Aviation, the company isn’t straying far from its roots. Itorcheak founded Sarvaq in 2011 to provide local jobs and training opportunities and said the idea to branch out, which has been “several years in the planning,” builds on the partnerships that have been crucial to the company’s success.
“We built a reputation in the construction and mining industries as a company to be trusted,” he said, adding that the support the initiative has received has made him reflect on the words of his mother: “If you are good to people, people will be good to you. If you help people, people will help you.”
