Dreamscapes Travel & Lifestyle

DREAMSCAPES WINTER/SPRING 2024 58 A s I settled into my seat aboard Air North, Yukon's Airline, I felt the anticipation of an adventure waiting to unfold. This airline, steeped in history and dedicated to connecting the Yukon and beyond, has carved a niche in the skies by offering extraordinary service and an experience that goes beyond mere travel. For 46 years, Air North and its fleet of 737s and ATRs have been linking the Yukon with British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and the rest of Canada. The company's growth has been gradual, with focus placed on providing true value to each passenger. It's a formula that has won the airline numerous Travellers' Choice Awards from TripAdvisor, and of course the most important prize of all—the right to call itself "Yukon's Airline." Those words are much more than just a part of the official name. Air North takes the moniker seri- ously, and it's reflected not only in the company's community investment initiatives, but in their ownership; 49% of Air North is owned by the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation of Old Crow, the only fly-in community in the Yukon, and one in every five Yukoners have an investment or employment stake in the company. Over time, Air North has evolved into an important life- line connecting different parts of the territory and the North, with regular flights to Dawson City, Old Crow and Inuvik that are vital to those thriving communities. As the company steadily grew, that service has expanded to key destinations across Canada. Today, reaching the Yukon has never been easier, with flights out of Whitehorse year-round directly to and from Vancouver, Kelowna, Victoria, Edmonton and Calgary. The successful recent addition of seasonal routes from the Yukon's capital direct to and from Yellowknife, Toronto and Ottawa is testament to the airline's commitment to opening up the territory to more travellers, and bringing it closer to its neighbours. Air North's journey from small operation to prominent regional carrier speaks volumes about the value it places on AIR NORTH, YUKON'S AIRLINE BY NIGEL SILAS EMBRACE THE EXTRAORDINARY WITH PHOTOS: SIMON BLAKESLEY | JOHN ALDERSON | PETER MATHER A I R L I N E S

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