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By Cirium2021-02-05T08:40:00+00:00
West Wind Aviation and Transwest Air will consolidate and rebrand as Rise Air to adapt to the travel downturn of the coronavirus pandemic and provide charter flights to western and northern Canada pending regulatory approval.
The Saskatoon-based parent company will merge its subsidiaries under one air operating certificate, West Wind Aviation Group chief executive Stephen Smith states.
Source: West Wind Aviation
West Wind Aviation’s fleet includes a pair of ATR 42 turboprops
“Because we’re bringing together two different companies that both have their own cultures and histories, we wanted something new and fresh but also wanted to preserve the legacy of both organizations,” Smith says. “Keeping costs down is a priority for us, and we are planning to transition some things more organically as they need replacing.”
Northern Sask. airline appoints new CEO
West Wind Aviation has appointed its third CEO in the last 11 months.
In a press release, the northern Saskatchewan airline announced Derek Nice will be taking over the role from Stephen Smith.
West Wind says Smith had only been serving as CEO on an interim basis and will continue on as chair of the board of directors.
Smith himself replaced Michael Rodyniuk as CEO last February who left the position after less than two years on the job.
Nice has served as a senior executive on a number of airlines including Inter Canadian Airlines, ExcelTech Aerospace and Pascan Aviation.