News Airlines
Pascan Aviation expands regional service in Eastern Quebec

Pascan Aviation, a regional carrier in Quebec with more than 20 years of experience, on July 17 announced plans to expand of its network starting on August 17, 2020.

Pascan currently offers daily scheduled flights covering eight airports (St.Hubert, Quebec, Bonaventure, Madeleine Islands, Bagotville, Mont-Joli, Sept-Îles, and Fermont-Wabush) over which are added Gaspé, Baie-Comeau, and Montreal-Trudeau. Pascan, in a statement about its flight expansion, also notes early morning flights from Fermont-Wabush connecting to Sept-Îles, Quebec and Montreal-Trudeau are also added.

“Since its inception, Pascan’s mission is to connect the regions to city centres, but also to connect the regions between themselves,” said Yani Gagnon, co-owner, Pascan. “With the expansion of our regional services, we now offer never-equaled connectivity in Eastern Quebec, with connecting possibility for international and interprovincial flights in Montreal-Trudeau and Quebec airports. We want to reassure the population in the regions that we are poised to fill the void left by the withdrawal of Air Canada in the regional market.”

Back on June 30, Air Canada released a statement that it was indefinitely suspending service on 30 domestic regional routes and closing eight stations at regional airports across Canada, east to west. Canada’s flag carrier also noted it may introduce more service-suspension measures, estimating it would take a minimum of three years for the industry to recover.

In addressing its move to cover some of the lost service in Quebec, Pascan co-owner Julian Roberts said: “Our priority has always been to offer safe and reliable service while responding to the needs of the regions. There are currently a lot of discussions on issues relating to regional air transportation, and we have decided to take immediate actions to ensure a leading role in regional aviation.

“A couple months back, we initiated an aircraft fleet changeover process, and we now can serve the regional market with turboprop SAAB 340B aircraft, with 34-seats configuration and full on-board services,” continued Roberts. “We are also working on finalizing interlining agreements with several national and international airlines in order to enhance our service offer. We are taking a dominant position in the skies of Quebec.”

Pascan states it has had financial support from BDC and Investissement Quebec for years, and is now also partnering with Miami-based Jetstream Aviation Capital, the world’s largest owner and lessor of SAAB turboprop regional aircraft and engines.

“What Pascan has accomplished on the regional market over the past 20 years is extraordinary, and we are extremely confident of the positioning that Pascan is undertaking to address and finding long-lasting solutions on issues relating to regional aviation,” said Stuart Klaskin, president and CEO, Jetstream Aviation Capital. “We are committed with Pascan over the long-term with the potential delivery, if needed, of up to 20 SAAB 340B, and 10 SAAB 2000 which are 50-seats configuration.”