A commercial airline servicing over 80 communities in North America has inquired about whether Lac La Biche’s municipal airport could support their fleet of larger passenger planes.
A spokesperson from Air Canada’s affiliate Jazz Air called Alberta Central Airways president Wendell Umble last week to ask about the local airport’s services.
“This is the first time any major airline has looked into what we’re doing here,” said Umble. “They phoned and asked about whether we had baggage handling facilities. I said ‘yeah, we could handle that.’”
He said the call was brief but added that the possibility of Jazz Airlines offering passenger service to the area would give Lac La Biche the chance to become a main port for oil workers flying to northern communities.
“We’d be happy to have that happen,” Umble said. “If they came here, they would probably fly from Calgary because Edmonton doesn’t have much to do with the oil patch. If they brought people, they would be oil people.”
Mayor Peter Kirylchuk also expressed excitement over the exchange between Umble and the airline during a Lac La Biche County council meeting on Feb. 1.
“It would work out very well for us,” said the mayor.
At the meeting, Ward 7 councillor John Nowak said the county needs to work together with companies like Jazz Air that could benefit the local economy.
“We need to find a synergy with these companies,” said Nowak.
Councillor Aurel Langevin said he supported the idea presented at the meeting for Kirylchuk to write Jazz a letter encouraging them to consider Lac La Biche.
“We can’t wait for companies to come to us, we need to go to them,” said Langevin
Kirylchuk said his office will send Jazz a letter. Angela Mah, an Air Canada spokeswoman, said in an email the airline is not currently contemplating scheduled service into Lac La Biche.
Mah did not offer a response specifically addressing the reason for the phone call Umble received.
Jazz Air currently operates a fleet of 128 planes ranging in capacity from 37-75 passengers.
