Wings of Alaska explained

Airline:Wings of Alaska
Fleet Size:2
Destinations:5
Iata:K5
Icao:SQH
Callsign:SASQUACH
Parent:Glacial Aviation
Founded:1982
Ceased:March 13, 2017
Headquarters:Juneau, Alaska, USA
Key People:Aldwin Harder-Managing Partner
Hubs:Juneau International Airport
Focus Cities:Skagway, Haines, Gustavus (Glacier Bay), Hoonah (Icy Straight), Juneau

Wings of Alaska was an American scheduled and charter airline company based in Juneau in the U.S. state of Alaska.[1]

History

Wings of Alaska was set up in 1982 to provide scheduled, chartered and freight flights services to many of the communities across Southeast, Alaska. Wings of Alaska was one of seven airlines in Alaska with the Medallion Foundation Shield, which has strict safety and operational guidelines that exceed the Federal Aviation Regulations. Wings was the only scheduled land-based airline in Southeast Alaska to have earned this Shield.[2] Wings' fleet was equipped with state-of-the-art Chelton Flight Systems Capstone Program, offering "Highway In The Sky" technology.

In 2008, Wings of Alaska was acquired by SeaPort Airlines. Following the acquisition, its headquarters were moved to Portland, Oregon. The combined airline maintained a single FAA operating certificate to operate single scheduled and non-scheduled flights in the Lower 48 market.

In 2015 Wings of Alaska was acquired from Seaport Airlines, by a locally owned Alaska business partnership, Fjord Flying Services, but continued to operate under the Wings of Alaska name. The company said it planned to focus on the locals and connections within the state itself, rather than connections to the continental U.S.[3]

In March 2017, Wings of Alaska announced that it was going out of business, ceasing operations immediately.[4]

Destinations

Wings of Alaska operated scheduled flights to the following locations in Alaska:

City ICAO Airport
JNU Juneau International Airport
GST Gustavus Airport
HNS Haines Airport
HNH Hoonah Airport
SGY Skagway Airport

Former scheduled destinations:[5]

They also have charter service throughout Alaska.

Fleet

A list of aircraft used by Wings of Alaska:[6]

Aircraft In service Passengers
1 5
1 5

Incidents

Wings of Alaska Flight 202, a Cessna 207 carrying one pilot and four passengers, crashed into a mountain between Juneau and Hoonah on July 17, 2015, killing the pilot. All four passengers survived. The National Transportation Safety Board investigated the crash and determined the cause was pilot error due to unfavorable weather conditions.[7] Mechanical failure was not a factor in the crash.

See also

Notes and References

  1. "Contact Us." Wings of Alaska. Retrieved on July 18, 2010. "Mailing Address: Wings of Alaska 8421 Livingston Way Juneau, AK 99801-8098"
  2. http://www.wingsofalaska.com/ Wings of Alaska
  3. Web site: Wings of Alaska sold - Gustavus charter company takes over Saturday. DeGrave. Sam. Juneau Empire. 12 October 2015. 24 January 2016.
  4. News: Emily. Files. Empire: Wings of Alaska shuts down. KHNS. March 13, 2017. March 13, 2017.
  5. Web site: Summer Schedule, Effective May 6, 2009 thru September 8, 2009 . Wings of Alaska . 2009-05-06 . 2009-07-04.
  6. http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/Name_Results.aspx?Nametxt=GLACIAL&sort_option=1&PageNo=1 FAA registry - Glacial Aviation
  7. News: Wreckage recovered from Southeast Alaska plane crash; investigation continues . Alaska Dispatch News . July 20, 2015 . July 23, 2015.