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NAC Air’s new digs brings fleet and staff expansions

By Nick Stewart The construction of a three-story hangar complex at the Thunder Bay International Airport is nearly complete, signaling a new age and a new home for First Nations-owned NAC Air.

By Nick Stewart

The construction of a three-story hangar complex at the Thunder Bay International Airport is nearly complete, signaling a new age and a new home for First Nations-owned NAC Air.

“It’s important for the airline, but it’s more important for our First Nations owner-communities,” says Tom Meilleur, President and CEO of NAC Air. 

Nac Air will be headquartered in the new 27,000- square foot facility located at the Thunder Bay Airport. “They started this business five years ago and they jumped into it with both feet, not knowing much about the aviation world.  They’ve succeeded in a fairly short period of time to end up with this building, which is what I call their first real tangible asset that they can grow upon.”

Construction on the new facility began in September, 2005 and was officially opened in July of this year.

The complex will act as a centralized location for NAC Air’s headquarters, representing a crucial improvement for the airline, which Meilleur describes as essentially having been homeless over the last year.

When a competing airline decided not to renew their lease, NAC Air’s headquarters was forced to fracture and temporarily relocate throughout the North.

“We were kind of scattered across the country,” he says.  “Our maintenance was in Sioux Lookout, and our operations were split between there and Thunder Bay.  It was a pretty hectic year.”

The expanded location features 15,000 square feet of hangar floor space, as well as 12,400 square feet for various operational and administrative offices.

  This represents a substantial increase over their previous facility, which had but 6,500 square feet of hangar space and 800 square feet for the airline’s offices.

The airline currently features more than 50 daily departures, traveling to 15 First Nations communities, as well as Sioux Lookout, Red Lake, Thunder Bay and Winnipeg.  Meilleur expects that the new facility will increase revenues within the near future, as the expansion will allow the airline to add four flights to its destination roster and five additional planes by the end of the year.

The new building is large enough to accommodate not only NAC Air’s head office and maintenance operations, but other offices as well. 

For example, the facility now represents the new home for the general headquarters for the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Services, and several offices are being kept open for future expansion and for use as rental units.

The site’s growth also means more jobs will soon be available, bringing the previous number of 50 part- and full-time employees to an estimated 65.

 Meilleur says that an additional 10 jobs are likely to become available within the coming year as the airline gradually expands its use of the facility.  NAC Air employs an estimated 120 employees throughout the company’s various sites.

Although the project has cost upwards of $4 million, the airline will not have to bear it alone, as the federal government has contributed up $250,000 in grants through Aboriginal Business Canada.

The provincial government is also lending a hand, having recently announced that it will contribute $2 million to the construction efforts in the form of interest-bearing repayable loans.  These funds are split evenly between the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation and the Northern Ontario Grow Bonds business loan pilot program.

“We were very thankful that the Ontario government was there and...the federal government,” says Meilleur, who added that the move attracted the Business Development Bank of Canada to provide them with additional loans.

According to Bill Mauro, Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP, the financial contribution represents an important move for the region.

“We’re hoping that the airport authority is going to become a large economic generator in the community, so NAC Air is another anchor tenant for them,” says Mauro. 

“Also, they provide significant employment in Thunder Bay and the region, and a lot of their employment is First Nations people.  It’s always a benefit when we can get First Nations people into the workforce and becoming part of the economy, so it’s good for a lot of reasons.”

While Meilleur is reluctant to detail what the future has in store for NAC Air, he says that the new building should easily accommodate whatever requirements may arise.

“We designed this facility not only with the needs of today in mind, but for the needs of tomorrow.”