Four years after initially announcing a potential move to Waterloo Region, Pivot Airlines has begun to use YKF as a base for charter and maintenance operations.
The company announced new ownership on Monday alongside the fact that it would finally touch down at the Waterloo International Airport.
“We have been interested in moving our maintenance base and commencing scheduled airline services from The Region of Waterloo International Airport (YKF) for some time now and this transaction provides us with the first opportunity to do so,” CEO Eric Edmondson stated.
“Our market research has indicated a significant unmet need for reliable scheduled airline services from Waterloo Region, and although YKF is not the only airport we intend to operate from in Southern Ontario, the availability of experienced local maintenance personnel ready to join Pivot’s team and hangar facilities provided through Fliteline have made this an easy decision for us.”
Four years ago, the airline’s plans to use the airport in Breslau were waylaid, in part due to COVID-19.
“Pivot focused on providing essential services during the pandemic and has expanded that offering with today’s announcement of additional CRJ aircraft to serve our charter market where we focus on providing service to remote communities and essential service flights,” a spokesperson for the company told Global News in an email.
The company has provided dozens of evacuation flights from floods and fires over the past few years.
But as part of Tuesday’s announcement, Pivot said it would be adding three Dash8-400 planes to its fleet.
“With the addition of the Dash 8-400 we believe we will be ideally positioned to start commercial service form YKF and other southern Ontario airports.”
When it initially announced the move to Waterloo Regional Airport, the company said it would offer service from YKF and Ottawa, Toronto, Windsor and Montreal but those plans appear to have changed for now.
“We think YKF holds a lot of potential for successful commercial services focused on the business and pleasure markets,” the spokesperson said.
While the company noted its essential service flights, it made major headlines in 2022 when several crew members aboard one of its planes were detained for months after cocaine was found on board a plane.