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Northwestern Air to resume service between Kelowna-Red Deer

Oct. 24, 2011, Kelowna, B.C. - Travellers will soon be able to take non-stop flights between Kelowna, B.C. and Red Deer, Alta.


October 24, 2011  By The Canadian Press

Brian Harrold, co-owner of Northwestern Air, said his company will resume the twice-weekly service Nov. 18 with a 19-seat turbo-prop Jetstream 32.

"We operated Kelowna-Red Deer for a while a few years back and had good response and good loads, but we had to pull out to do some extra Transport Canada and Nav Canada paperwork,'' said Harrold.

He said the paperwork and the bureaucratic delays are now done and were related to aircraft tests and mountain flying.

Sam Samaddar, manager of the Kelowna International Airport, said he's happy to have the service back.

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"There are numerous business connections between our two regions as well as many visiting family and friends who will benefit from this direct link,'' he said.

Red Deer, in central Alberta, is the province`s third biggest city with a population of about 100,000 and is located equidistant between Calgary and Edmonton.

Kelowna, the largest city in the Okanagan Valley, has a population of more than 106,000 people.

Harrold said he sees a good market for business and leisure travellers who have previously used Kelowna-Calgary and Kelowna-Edmonton flights, but whose final destinations are actually closer to Red Deer.

Northwestern Air is based in Fort Smith, N.W.T., and is owned by Harrold and his father, Terry, who are both pilots.

They and their team of pilots operate six Jetstreams on routes that take off and land in Fort Smith, Yellowknife, Edmonton, Hay River, Fort Chipewyan and Fort McMurray.

The Red Deer addition takes to 14 the number of cities served by non-stop flights from Kelowna.

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