Air Inuit: How the Wholly Inuit-Owned Carrier Flies

The fleet

Air Inuit operates mostly Dash 8s, alongside Boeing 737-200 combis configured to carry both passengers and freight in the same cabin and numerous Twin Otters for the shortest runways. The fleet is being renewed, with new 737-800s meant to replace the old 737-200s fitted with gravel-runway kits, which are more expensive to keep in service.

History and positioning

Created in 1978 by the Makivik Corporation, which represents the Inuit of Nunavik, the airline remains wholly Indigenous-owned. It is not a passenger carrier in the classic sense: it is the transport infrastructure that holds together 14 coastal villages in northern Quebec and the rest of Canada, also providing emergency medical flights to hospitals in the south.

Routes and network

The links connect Montréal to Nunavik, carrying goods, fuel and mail as well as passengers. The fresh food transported often benefits from federal subsidies that reduce its final cost in the most isolated villages. In the seasons of heaviest cargo traffic, the priority given to freight can reduce the passenger seats actually available on some routes.

What passengers say

The verdict on Air Inuit is almost always tied to its essential function rather than to a comparison with other carriers.

• Service perceived as reliable given the logistical complexity of the territory served.
• The ability to carry essential goods even when weather conditions are difficult.

• Fares among the highest in Canada on a per-kilometer basis.
• Limited seats on combi flights when freight has priority in certain seasons.
• Little flexibility in booking changes for those traveling as occasional tourists.

Air Inuit is the right solution only for those who actually need to reach the communities of Nunavik: it is not designed as a general travel option and is rightly little known outside that context. Those using it for the first time should find out in advance about seasonal cargo priorities, because the availability of passenger seats can vary with the freight being carried.