Transwest Air is a scheduled and charter airline primarily serving the Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 province of Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

. Its headquarters and main base is at Prince Albert

Prince Albert, Saskatchewan

Prince Albert is the third-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is situated in the centre of the province on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. The city is known as the "Gateway to the North" because it is the last major centre along the route to the resources of northern Saskatchewan...

.

Transwest was formed in 2000 by the merger of two existing airlines: Air Sask (La Ronge Aviation) and Athabaska Airways.

Transwest's current equipment includes a number of bush plane

Bush plane

A bush airplane is a general aviation aircraft serving remote, undeveloped areas of a country, usually the African bush, Alaskan and Canadian tundra or the Australian Outback...

s and helicopters, plus three Saab 340

Saab 340

The Saab 340 is a discontinued Swedish two-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by a partnership between Saab and Fairchild Aircraft in a 65:35 ratio...

 regional turboprop airliners. The company also operates La Ronge Water Aerodrome

La Ronge Water Aerodrome

La Ronge Water Aerodrome, , is located adjacent to La Ronge, Saskatchewan, Canada....

, Stony Rapids Water Aerodrome

Stony Rapids Water Aerodrome

Stony Rapids Water Aerodrome, , is located adjacent to Stony Rapids, Saskatchewan, Canada....

.

History

The company was founded by Floyd Glass

Floyd Glass

Floyd Glass was born in Saskatchewan, Canada. He was an aviation entrepreneur who founded Transwest Air in 1955.Upon his death in 1999, his son Jim took over the company.-References:...

, who learned to fly in the late 1930s, then served as a military flying training instructor during the Second World War

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Postwar, he was the first general manager of the provincial Crown corporation Saskatchewan Government Airways. He resigned from this post, flew briefly with British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

's Queen Charlotte Airways, then returned to Saskatchewan and in 1955 formed his own firm, Athabaska Airways, which still exists under the name "Transwest Air". Glass died in 2000.

Passenger services

Transwest Air offers scheduled flights to/from the following locations:

• Saskatchewan
  Saskatchewan
  Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
  
  
  • Fond-du-Lac
    Fond-du-Lac, Saskatchewan
    Fond-du-lac is a settlement located in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Situated on the east side of Lake Athabasca it is a remote fly-in community...
    
     (Fond-du-Lac Airport
    Fond-du-Lac Airport
    Fond-du-Lac Airport, , is located north of Fond-du-Lac, Saskatchewan, Canada.-Airlines and destinations:...
    
    )
  • La Ronge
    La Ronge, Saskatchewan
    La Ronge is a community of about 2,700 people in Northern Saskatchewan, Canada, 250 km north of Prince Albert. There are an additional 2,000 people living in the Lac La Ronge First Nation bordering the town, and another 1,000 people living in the neighbouring community of Air Ronge...
    
     (La Ronge (Barber Field) Airport
    La Ronge (Barber Field) Airport
    La Ronge Airport, , is located northeast of La Ronge, Saskatchewan, Canada.-Airlines and destinations:-External links:...
    
    )
  • Points North (Points North Landing Airport
    Points North Landing Airport
    Points North Landing Airport, , is located adjacent to Points North Landing, Saskatchewan, Canada. Also commonly referred to as "Points Nowhere."-Airlines and destinations:...
    
    )
  • Prince Albert
    Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
    Prince Albert is the third-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is situated in the centre of the province on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. The city is known as the "Gateway to the North" because it is the last major centre along the route to the resources of northern Saskatchewan...
    
     (Prince Albert (Glass Field) Airport
    Prince Albert (Glass Field) Airport
    Prince Albert Airport is located northeast of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada.The airport was originally opened near Prince Albert on 22 July 1940 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan as No. 6 Elementary Flying Training School, with a Relief Landing Field located near Hagan...
    
    )
  • Saskatoon
    Saskatoon
    Saskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....
    
     (Saskatoon/John G. Diefenbaker International Airport)
  • Stony Rapids
    Stony Rapids, Saskatchewan
    Stony Rapids is a northern hamlet in Northern Saskatchewan, Canada, with a total population of 360 residents. Located south of the border to the Northwest Territories, the community is astride the Fond du Lac River...
    
     (Stony Rapids Airport
    Stony Rapids Airport
    Stony Rapids Airport, , is located adjacent to Stony Rapids, Saskatchewan, Canada.On June 25, 2006, the airport was used to evacuate residents from northern Saskatchewan when Stony Rapids and other nearby communities were threatened by forest fires....
    
    )
  • Wollaston Lake
    Wollaston Lake
    Wollaston Lake is located in northeastern Saskatchewan, Canada. With a surface area of 2286 km² , it is the largest lake in the world that drains naturally in two directions...
    
     (Wollaston Lake Airport
    Wollaston Lake Airport
    Wollaston Lake Airport, , is located adjacent to Wollaston Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada.-Airlines and destinations:...
    
    )

Fleet

As of April 2010 Transwest Air listed a fleet of 48 aircraft and had 47 aircraft registered with Transport Canada

Transport Canada

Transport Canada is the department within the government of Canada which is responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities portfolio...

.

Transwest Air Fleet

Aircraft	Fleet	Listing	Variants	Idents	Notes
Beechraft 1900D Airliner Beechcraft 1900 The Beechcraft 1900 is a 19-passenger, pressurized twin-engine turboprop airplane manufactured by the Beechcraft Division of the Raytheon Company . It was designed, and is primarily used, as a regional airliner...	1	1	1900D	GTWG	Configured for cargo. Can be configured for 19 passengers.
Beechcraft King Air 100 Beechcraft King Air The Beechcraft King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by the Beech Aircraft Corporation...	2	A100	FEYP, GJHW	9 passengers.
Beechcraft Super King Air 200 Beechcraft Super King Air The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by the Beech Aircraft Corporation . The King Air line comprises a number of model series that fall into two families: the Model 90 series, Model 100 series , Model 200 series and Model 300 series...	2	2	200	GFSG, C-FRRQ	6-9 passengers.
Bell 205 Bell 204/205 The Bell 204 and 205 are the civil versions of the ubiquitous UH-1 Iroquois single-engine military helicopters. They are type-certificated in the transport category and are used in a wide variety of applications, including crop dusting, cargo lifting, and one of its most common uses, aerial...	1	1	Bell 205A-1	FJTG	up to 14 passengers, helicpoter
Bell 206 JetRanger Bell 206 The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- or twin-engine helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter program, the 206 failed to be selected...	4	5	206B/206L/206L-4	FTMC, FYID, GCNC, GELT, GYHY	3 or 5 passengers, helicopter.
Bell 407 Bell 407 The Bell 407 is a four-blade, single-engine, civil utility helicopter; a derivative of the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger. The 407 uses the four-blade rotor with composite hub developed for the United States Army's OH-58D Kiowa Warrior instead of the two-blade, semi-rigid rotor of the 206L-4...	1	2		FOHD, FOKD	up to 6 passengers, helicopter
Cessna 185 Skywagon Cessna 185 -Specification for differing configurations:-References:* Jan Churchill, Hit My Smoke: Forward Air Controllers in Southeast Asia, Sunflower University Press, Manhattan KS, ISBN 0-89745-215-1...	4	4	A185F	GALM, GCJM, GXZA, GZVF	3 passengers, wheel/ski or floats.
de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, primarily known as a bush plane. It is used for cargo and passenger hauling, aerial application , and has been widely adopted by armed forces as a utility aircraft...	8	7	MkI/MkII/MkIII	FGHY, FGQD, FIFJ, FOED, GAEB, GHGN, GMAQ	5 or 6 passengers, wheels, skis or floats. MkIII is a Turbo Beaver.
de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter De Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada. It was conceived to be capable of performing the same roles as the earlier and highly successful Beaver, but was overall a larger aircraft.-Design and...	2	2	DHC3/DHC3-T	FHPE, FSGD	9 passengers, wheel/skis or floats. Transwest lists both Otters as turbo, Transport Canada list one turbo and one piston.
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter The DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian 19-passenger STOL utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada and currently produced by Viking Air. The aircraft's fixed tricycle undercarriage, STOL abilities and high rate of climb have made it a successful cargo, regional passenger airliner and MEDEVAC...	4	5	100/200 Series	FCCE, FSCA, FVOG, FGLF, FPGE	12 to 15 passengers, wheels, skis or floats.
Piper PA-31 Navajo Piper PA-31 Navajo The Piper PA-31 Navajo is a family of cabin-class, twin-engine aircraft designed and built by Piper Aircraft for the general aviation market, most using Lycoming engines. It was also licence-built in a number of Latin American countries. Targeted at small-scale cargo and feeder liner operations and...	1	5	PA31/PA31-325/PA31-350	FAAF, FNVH, GAYY, GGIQ, GQHV, GUNP	8 passengers.
Saab 340 Saab 340 The Saab 340 is a discontinued Swedish two-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by a partnership between Saab and Fairchild Aircraft in a 65:35 ratio...	3	3	340A/340B	GKCY, GTJX, GTWK	34 passengers.

External links

• Company site