Comox Valley residents have a new option for air travel, one that Harbour Air Group says is fast, convenient and affordable.
Harbour Air Group's newest service, Tantalus Air, offers private charters out of Comox Valley Airport.
"It's a great option for people in the Comox Valley," says Harbour Air's VP of sales and marketing Meredith Moll. "It's a fast, affordable, alternate option to taking commercial airlines, the ferry or another private jet.
"It's half the cost of chartering a private jet, and also is quite comparable with 鈥� if you have a group of six to eight people 鈥� booking them on a commercial carrier. So it's a great option."
The Pilatus PC-12 is Harbour Air's first land-based aircraft. The single-engine turboprop aircraft cruises at nearly 500 kilometres per hour, and has executive seating for six to eight passengers, a full coffee and snack bar, a lavatory and a large cargo access door for luggage.
The aircraft has a range of nearly 3,000 kilometres, so it can fly to Alberta, California or more remote locations like the Yukon or Northwest Territories.
Moll notes Tantalus Air can shorten a trip. The flight from Richmond to Comox, for instance, took just over 20 minutes.
"You don't have to go through the security that you would have to go through on the commercial," she adds, noting passengers can simply hop out of the aircraft into a waiting car steps away. "It's also on demand 鈥� you're not having to be at the mercy of a large carrier that may or may not be on time, or may not fly."
Harbour Air's vp of flight operations and safety Eric Scott notes the aircraft's ability to take-off and land on relatively short airstrips.
"One of the other great options with this is for business people who have business opportunities in remote areas; we can get into gravel strips, we can get into the shorter strips," he says, adding the large cargo door means bigger, bulkier items can be transported. "It really opens up the options compared to what a corporate jet would do, so options are limitless with this."
For more information, including a quote, call 1-604-233-2650.
Harbour Air also offers flights from Comox Harbour to Vancouver. For more information, visit www.harbourair.com.
