- Discovery Air
-
Discovery Air Incorporated 
Type Public Traded as TSX: DA.A Industry Specialized Aviation Founded 2004 Headquarters Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada Key people David A. Jennings, CEO
Andy Min, CFOWebsite www.discoveryair.com Discovery Air Incorporated ("DA"), founded and Incorporated in 2004,[1] is a specialized aviation company that operates primarily in Canada. Through its five subsidiary companies, Discovery Air provides aviation and aviation related services for both corporate customers as well as the Federal and Provincial governments of Canada. The Discovery Air operating units provide both fixed-wing and rotary-wing services as well as logistics and remote operations management services. This includes cargo and passenger air charter services throughout Canada, vital air ambulance services in the North and utility flying for mining exploration. The Discovery Air business units also provide specialized searvices to provincial governments with forest fire detection and suppression as well as providing airborne training and special mission services to the Canadian Land Force Command, Maritime Command and Air Command. Discovery Air also provides a range of maintenance, repair and overhaul solutions to airline customers through Discovery Air Technical Services Inc., based in Quebec City.[2]
Headquartered in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and traded publicly on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the symbol DA.A, Discovery Air's subsidiary companies have bases all across Canada.[3]
Contents
Corporate history
- 2004 - Discovery Air Inc. is incorporated by the Pacific & Western Bank of Canada
- 2004 - Discovery Air Inc. acquires Hicks & Lawrence Limited[4]
- 2006 - Discovery Air Inc. completes an initial public offering of $3.85 million[5]
- 2006 - Discovery Air Inc. acquires Great Slave Helicopters Limited[6]
- 2006 - Discovery Air Inc. acquires Air Tindi Limited
- 2007 - Discovery Air Inc. purchases Wheel Division Assets of Walsten Air Service[7]
- 2007 - Discovery Air Inc. acquires Top Aces Incorporated[8]
- 2008 - Discovery Air Inc. acquires Discovery Mining Services[9]
- 2009 - Discovery Air Inc. announces new Chief Executive Officer, David A. Jennings[10]
- 2010 - Discovery Air Inc. announces commencement of operations at Discovery Air Technical Services Inc.
- 2011 - Discovery Air Inc. announces the opening of a new business unit, Discovery Air Innovations Inc.
- August - Discovery Air Innovations sign a provisional deal with Hybrid Air Vehicles to purchase hybrid airships for use in Northern Canada. The deal, which the companies hope to have finalised by 2012, could involve up to 45 airships at $40 million per craft, with the first being delivered in 2014.[11][12]
Operating units
Discovery Air Inc. provides specialized aviation services through two operating segments: the Northern Services and the Government Services.[13]
Northern Services
The Northern Services segment consists of three operating units: Great Slave Helicopters Limited ("GSHL"), Air Tindi Limited ("Tindi") and Discovery Mining Services ("DMS.") Together, these three operating units have a customer base servicing companies and government entities in the business of mineral, base and precious metal exploration and production, wildlife services, forest fire suppression, oil and gas exploration, power line construction and maintenance, aerial surveys, seismic, air ambulance, scheduled charters and tourism.[14]
More specifically, founded in 1984, Great Slave Helicopters is the second-largest VFR operator in Canada with 68 helicopters in its fleet.[15][16] It provides, alone and along with several First Nations and Inuit groups in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, scheduled and chartered passenger and air cargo services to private sector companies and governments.[17] Under the name Northlinx, Great Slave Helicopters has partnerships with Akaitcho Helicopters, Dehcho Regional Helicopters, Denendeh Helicopters, (49%, Evergreen Forestry Management Limited has 51%), Gwich'in Helicopters, Havgun Helicopters, Hudson Bay Helicopters (100%), K'ahsho Got'ine Helicopters (majority First Nations owned), Kitikmeot Helicopters (49%, Bill and Jessie Lyall own 51% ) Kivallingmiut/Kivalliq Aviation (majority Inuit owned, Air Tindi is also a minority share holder), Sahtu Helicopters (49%, various land corporations have 51%), Superior Helicopters abd Tlicho Helicopters.[18]
Air Tindi, founded in 1988, is a charter airline based in Yellowknife, NT. With their main base as the Yellowknife Airport, they provide scheduled and on demand charter services throughout Northern and Western Canada. With 24 fixed-wing airplanes in their fleet, they are capable of transporting 46 passengers or 10,000 pounds of cargo. Tindi has the largest Medivac fleet in Northern Canada.[19]
Founded in 1991, Discovery Mining Services is a NWT-based company that provides remote exploration camps, expediting, logistics and staking services to primarily diamond and mineral exploration companies.[20]
Government Services
The Government Services segment consists of two operating units: Hicks & Lawrence Limited ("Hicks") and Top Aces Incorporated ("TA"). These two operating units provide niche services primarily aimed at government entities.[21]
More specifically, Hicks & Lawrence, a company that has been in operation since 1947, is a fixed-wing company based in Ontario. In addition to providing air charter services through their turbine division, Hicks' piston division also provides services to the Government of Ontario as part of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources forest fire management program.[22]
Founded in 2000 by three former CF-18 pilots, Top Aces is a Quebec-based fixed wing aviation company that acts as the prime supplier of Airborne Training Services to the Canadian Army, Navy and Air Force.[23] Flying their 16 Alpha Jets and 4 Westwind Aircraft are former fighter pilots.[24]
Discovery Air Technical Services
Discovery Air also provides a range of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services to airline customers through Discovery Air Technical Services Inc., which was created in 2010 through the acquisition of the former ExelTech Aerospace MRO facility in Quebec City.[2] Discovery Air Technical Services is an airframe MRO with extensive in-house shop capabilities - welding, avionics, engineering, machining, heat treatment, composite and sheet metal repairs - that offers repair services for Saab 340, Dash 8 and Embraer ERJ 145 aircraft.
Fleet
Great Slave Helicopters
The fleet consists of 68 helicopters[15][25]
Great Slave Helicopters Fleet Aircraft No. of Aircraft Variants Notes Astar 350 21 AS350 B2, AS350 B3, AS350 BA Bell 205 2 205-1 The Great Slave Helicopters website lists 205A1+ and 205A1++ Bell 206 24 206B, 206L, 206L-1, 206L-3, 206L-4 The 206L-1 is not listed at the Great Slave Helicopters website Bell 212 9 212 Single, 212/212HP Eurocopter EC130 2 EC130 B4 MD 500 9 Listed by Transport Canada as Hughes 369D Schweizer 269 1 269C Not listed at the Great Slave Helicopters website Air Tindi
The fleet consists of 21[26] or 23[27] aircraft
Air Tindi Fleet Aircraft No. of Aircraft Variants Notes Beechcraft 1900 1 1900D Beechcraft Super King Air 3 Model 200, Model 200C Cessna 185 2 A185 F Skywagon Cessna 208 4 208 Caravan, 208B Grand Caravan Single Otter 2 Not listed at the Air Tindi website Twin Otter 6 Series 200, Series 300 Dash 7 3 DHC-7-102, DHC-7-103 Hicks & Lawrence
The fleet consists of 33 aircraft[28]
Hicks & Lawrence Fleet Aircraft No. of Aircraft Variants Notes Rockwell Twin Commander 500 7 500B, 500S Listed by Transport Canada as Aero Commander 500 Beechcraft King Air 2 Model C90, Model C90A Beechcraft Super King Air 3 Model 200 Cessna 208 1 Caravan Not listed at the Hicks & Lawrence website Cessna Skymaster 19 337B, 337D, 337G, 337H Piper PA-36 Pawnee Brave 1 PA-36-375 Not listed at the Hicks & Lawrence website Top Aces
The fleet consists of 23 aircraft[29]
Top Aces Fleet Aircraft No. of Aircraft Variants Notes Beechcraft Super King Air 1 Model 300 Not listed at the Top Aces website Canadair CL-600 1 2A12 Not listed at the Top Aces website Alpha Jet 19 Model A IAI Westwind 4 1124 Listed by Transport Canada as the Israel 1124 Locations
- Discovery Air Head Office[30] - Yellowknife
- Great Slave Helicopters - Kapuskasing • Dryden • Churchill • Calgary • Rankin Inlet • Fort Simpson • Cambridge Bay • Inuvik • Norman Wells • Fort Liard • Hay River • Yellowknife
- Air Tindi - Fort Simpson • Yellowknife
- Discovery Mining Service - Yellowknife • Nunavut
- Hicks & Lawrence - Dryden • Kenora • Sudbury • Timmins • Geraldton • Chapleau
- Top Aces - Halifax (CFB Halifax) • Pointe-Claire (CFB Montreal) • Bagotville (CFB Bagotville) • Cold Lake (CFB Cold Lake) • Victoria (CFB Esquimalt)
- Discovery Air Technical Services - Quebec City
References
- ^ The Little Bank That Did
- ^ a b Discovery Air Announces Commencement of Operations at Discovery Air Technical Services Inc.
- ^ Company Profile
- ^ Discover Air acquires 100% of Hicks & Lawrence
- ^ Discovery Air Inc. Completes $3.85 Million Initial Public Offering
- ^ Discovery Air Buys Great Slave Helicopters
- ^ Hicks & Lawrence Ltd. acquires Walsten Air Service
- ^ Discovery Air Inc. acquires Top Aces Inc
- ^ Discovery Air Inc. acquires Discovery Mining Services
- ^ People: Discovery Air Names David Jennings Permanent CEO
- ^ Futuristic 'airships' planned for North at CBC.
- ^ UK group secures commercial airship deal at the Financial Times
- ^ Discovery Air Inc. (DAA: TSX)
- ^ Google Finance: DA.A TSE
- ^ a b Transport Canada listing of aircraft owned by "Great Slave Helicopters". Enter "Great Slave Helicopters" in the "Owner Name" box.
- ^ Great Slave Helicopters
- ^ Great Slave Helicopters Ltd
- ^ Great Slave Helicopters - Partnerships
- ^ Air Tindi Ltd. - Complete Profile
- ^ Discovery Mining Services
- ^ Discovery Air Inc. - Company Profile Snapshot
- ^ Discovery Air Inc. - Company Profile
- ^ Top Aces Inc. Overview
- ^ Top Aces - Our Team
- ^ Great Slave Helicopters - Fleet
- ^ Transport Canada listing of aircraft owned by "Air Tindi". Enter "Great Slave Helicopters" in the "Owner Name" box.
- ^ Our Aircraft Fleet
- ^ Transport Canada listing of aircraft owned by "Hicks & Lawrence". Enter "Hicks & Lawrence" in the "Owner Name" box.
- ^ Transport Canada listing of aircraft owned by "Top Aces". Enter "Top Aces" in the "Owner Name" box.
- ^ Discovery Air Inc
External links
Categories:- Companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange
- Charter airlines of Canada
- Canadian brands
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