Pacific Coastal Airlines Seaplane Operations Update

Pacific Coastal Airlines has a long history of providing quality air service on the west coast and throughout British Columbia. Starting out back in the 80’s as a small local airline connecting Port Hardy and Powell River to Vancouver with our land plane service, and of course the hundreds of remote locations along the BC Coast with our Seaplane service.

We have grown into a regional airline serving all of BC with a diverse fleet of float and wheeled aircraft. We take great pride in offering safe, reliable and competitive service to all of our customers throughout the communities we serve. In order to continue to provide cost effective and efficient service, we need to be competitive throughout our operation. As the airline has grown, it has been increasingly challenging for us to operate our seaplane service in the same manner as our larger, wheel plane division. We continue to struggle to be competitive throughout both operations simultaneously. For this reason, we have made the decision that it is necessary to separate the Seaplane service from the larger Airline service.

Pacific Coastal Airlines will still retain whole ownership of the newly separated seaplane service and we will continue to operate the seaplanes to the high standard expected of us by our customers.

The new seaplane service will operate under the name Wilderness Seaplanes Ltd. The Wilderness name takes us back to the roots of Pacific Coastal Airlines as it is where Daryl Smith, founder and CEO, began operations of his first air service, 51 years ago in Bella Coola, BC.

The two separate airlines will be operating as interline partners as we are committed to creating as minimal impact as possible on how you have been and will continue to do business with Pacific Coastal Airlines. Although there will be some changes, there will remain the ability to talk to one person and book passenger or cargo travel from anywhere in the Pacific Coastal Airlines network to any of the Wilderness Seaplane destinations. We will continue to provide the quality service you have been used to by upholding the same high standards you have come to expect from our current seaplane operation.

We will continue to provide information on the Pacific Coastal Airlines website as well as the, soon to be launched, Wilderness Seaplanes website. We look forward to this new era of airline operations and are excited with the future opportunities as both the Pacific Coastal Airlines and Wilderness Seaplanes operations continue to grow and develop.

Media contact: Vince Crooks P: 250.949.6353 Email: vince.crooks@pacificcoastal.com

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About Pacific Coastal Airlines
Pacific Coastal Airlines flies to 65+ destinations in British Columbia, and offers regularly Scheduled, Cargo and Charter services. Headquartered at YVR South Terminal, Pacific Coastal is the third largest airline operating at Vancouver International Airport based on total outbound seats, and employs over three hundred people. www.pacificcoastal.com