“Every new route we launch is an investment in the North, supporting local economies, encouraging tourism, strengthening business ties and making it easier for people to connect with family, friends and new experiences,” added Benjamin Ryan, the Chief Commercial Officer at Air North.
This upcoming flight will also mark the return of jet service to Kamloops, after Flair Airlines’ short-lived expansion in 2023. Moroz said the Yukon-based airline will use a 122-seat Boeing 737-500 to operate these fights, smaller than the 189 seat Boeing 737s used by Flair.
“We have the prop plane, the Q400 and it’s a wonderful plane that serves Kamloops to Vancouver, Calgary [and Edmonton] and then the Beech 1900 takes us to Victoria,” Moroz told CFJC Today. “They’re all great planes, but the jet can take you further. In this case its to Vancouver and then onto the Yukon.”
Air North has operated charter flights to Kamloops for the past four May long weekends, but this new service will help strengthen connections between the B.C. Interior, Metro Vancouver and the largest city in Northern Canada.
“Whitehorse is a huge destination for travellers – for hikers, outdoors explorers, and sports teams,” said Moroz. “People from Whitehorse and the Yukon travel to Kamloops quite frequently and its been a challenging route to connect to in the past.”
“This allows those teams to come here and compete in Kamloops tournaments as well as that business and leisure travel for those seeking the Interior experience and the Whitehorse experience.”
This new flight was supported by YKA LINK, a newly-formed partnership between Kamloops Airport as well as tourism, business and government organizations to strengthen air service to Kamloops as well as the North Thompson and Nicola Valleys as well as the Shuswap and the Cariboo.
“This announcement reflects exactly what YKA LINK was created to achieve,” Councillor Bill Sarai, the President of the Kamloops Airport Authority Society, said, in a statement.
“By bringing tourism, business, local governments and the airport together with one voice, we have been able to demonstrate the strength of this market and the opportunities our region offers. We are thrilled to welcome Air North and look forward to supporting the long-term success of this service.”
Tickets for these flights can already be booked via Air North’s website or though participating travel partners.
“If you’re planning ahead and looking for a flight from Kamloops to Vancouver and onwards to Whitehorse or just to Vancouver, you will have that now as an option,” Moroz said. “Book early as the earlier you book, I think, the better you’ll find it to be.”