Powell River residents have another option for travelling to Vancouver and around the coast when Harbour Air’s first regular flight lands on Powell Lake Monday morning at 9 am.
“We’re excited to finally offer service to Powell River seven days a week,” says Meredith Moll, vice president of sales and marketing for Harbour Air. “We have received numerous enquiries over the years for flights to Powell River, and we’re thrilled that it’s finally happening.”
Harbour Air will offer one morning and one afternoon flight daily between the dock at The Shinglemill Pub on Powell Lake and its main terminal in Downtown Vancouver. Depending on aircraft type, flights will be between 30 and 40 minutes and seat up to 14 passengers.
“We are another option for people who need to travel to Vancouver for business, medical appointments or any other reason,” says Meredith. “Passengers on our flights from Powell Lake will land directly into Downtown Vancouver. Our terminal is located at level 1 of the Vancouver Convention Centre so from there, they can easily access public transportation, taxis or car share options right outside the terminal, as well as all the amenities of Downtown Vancouver.”
Harbour Air has a 40-year history of providing access to coastal destinations. With daily seaplane flights to and from Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, Salt Spring Island, Maple Bay and Sechelt, as well as seasonal service to Comox, Tofino, Whistler and Kelowna, adding Powell River to the mix just made sense, says Meredith.
“Many of our guests want to get up the coast, not just over to the island,” she says. “They want to see something different, visit smaller towns, go hiking and experience nature, and Powell River is all those things. As our service expands, we want to partner with Powell River businesses to provide services like guiding on the trail or packaged food. We’d love to hear from anyone who has an established business or event and an idea of how we can work together.”
In addition to working with communities, Harbour Air places a high value on environmental citizenship, something Meredith feels is important to Powell River residents. In 2007 it was the first carbon-neutral airline in North America and is currently the only carbon-neutral airline in the world.
“For residents, we are looking to become part of the community,” says Meredith. “We know the people who live here enjoy being out of the big city, but they may also want to head in to see their doctor, or take in a Canucks game or concert. We hope our service will allow people to do that a little easier.”
Powell River residents seem to be excited about the possibilities offered by Harbour Air. Within hours of announcing the route, people were already booking tickets.
“Within hours after we sent out the press release, we had numerous calls and bookings. The flights aren’t full yet by any stretch but with our $99 introductory special, we were happy to see that people were excited,” says Meredith.
In addition to the regular flights, Harbour Air also offers private charters, both for tour groups and individuals, standby fares for seniors and students, and options for unaccompanied minors. The airline is also working on through-fares, so passengers can connect through Vancouver to any of the other destinations Harbour Air flies to.
“We hope to get people to Downtown Victoria from Powell River in two hours, for example,” says Meredith. “We’re working on our other scheduled routes so our guests can quickly and easily connect through.”
To see Harbour Air schedules, learn more about its services or to book tickets, go to harbourair.com. Businesses or events interested in partnering with Harbour Air can contact Meredith at mmoll@harbourair.com.
