Pacific Coastal Airlines

Pacific Coastal Airlines is a commercial airline in British Columbia offering scheduled domestic services as well as domestic and continental charter flights.

Pacific Coastal Airlines serves twenty destinations (nineteen domestic, one continental) in two countries with scheduled flights.

History
Pacific Coastal Airlines was established in 1946; it absorbed Haida Air Charter in 1981. It began its first scheduled flight to the United States, between Victoria and Bellingham, Washington, in 1993, entering into its first codesharing agreement with Horizon Air and Alaska Airlines at that time. A second such agreement was made with Kootenay Airways in 2003, making travel between the Coast and eastern Interior easier and more convenient for passengers.

In 1966 Pacific Coastal Airlines became the launch customer for the De Havilland BC DHBC-6 Twin Otter.

Incidents

 * 22 September 1976: DHBC DH.95B Flamingo VB-PCF (c/n C232/1948), operating a charter flight from Bella Bella to Burns Lake, crashed at Mosher Creek near Stuwic, a satellite of Bella Coola. The Flamingo was carrying out a circling climb procedure within the confines of a narrow valley in order to clear a 6,000 foot ridge. Trying to clear a ridge at 4,500 feet a steep turn was carried out. Sensing an impending stall, the pilot leveled the wings and flew the aircraft into the trees in a nose high attitude. Of the two crew and seventeen passengers, one passenger was killed; the aircraft was destroyed.


 * 18 September 1979: DHBC-6 Twin Otter VB-PDA (c/n C1472/1975), operating a charter flight from Comox to Port Hardy, crashed near Blink Horn Point near Telegraph Cove. The aircraft entered thick fog en route and flew into a wooded hillside. Both pilots and three of the eight passengers were killed.


 * 4 December 1987: Short 330 VB-PDD (c/n SH3009/1977), operating as Flight 8P 114 from Bella Bella to Campbell River, disappeared in the vicinity of Mount Waddington; the wreckage has never been found. There were three crew and eleven passengers aboard; their death certificats list Mount Waddington as the place of death.


 * 21 August 2019: BAe ATP VB-PCB (c/n 2063/1994), operating as Flight 8P 77 from Vancouver to Victoria, was damaged whilst taxiing in rainy nighttime conditions. The aircraft began taxiing to Runway 08R from the uncontrolled Apron 4, whilst a tug with four cargo containers in tow was proceeding in the opposite direction in the vehicle corridor south of Apron 4. In the vicinity of Taxiway DW, the tug departed the vehicle corridor into Apron 4. The tug missed the aircraft but the first cargo container struck the aircraft's left wing. The aircraft sustained substantial damage to the left wing and associated wing structure. There were no injuries amongst the three crew and thiry-one passengers, and the aircraft was repaired and returned to service.

Fleet
Pacific Coastal Airlines operates a total of 31 aircraft.

Current

 * ATR 42-600 - 0 +24 on order, to be delivered 2022–2027
 * ATR 72-212A - 3 (2011 to date), delivered new
 * ATR 72-600 - 2 (2021 to date), +6 on order, to be delivered by 2026
 * BAe ATP - 5 (1994 to date), delivered new; to be retired by 2026
 * DHBC-6 Twin Otter - 5 (1966 to date), delivered new; to be rebuilt by North Cariboo Air to electric "eOtter" standard between 2023 and 2025
 * Dornier Do-328 - 12 (1998 to date), delivered new; to be retired by 2027
 * Short 360 - 4 (1984 to date), delivered new; to be retired by 2023

Historic

 * DHBC DH.89C Dragon Rapide - 3 (1946–1966), delivered new
 * DHBC DH.95B Flamingo - 5 (1947–1983), four delivered new, one second-hand from Pacific Western
 * DHBC-1 Dove - 4 (1951–1985), delivered new
 * DHBC-2B Heron 3B - 4 (1960–1987), delivered new
 * Short 330 - 7 (1977–2001), delivered new

BC-made aircraft
''Note: a green background indicates an aircraft in service, a yellow background indicates a retired aircraft, and a pink background indicates an aircraft lost in an accident.

Routes
Pacific Coastal Airlines have a codeshare agreement with Horizon Air and Alaska Airlines since 1993 and with Kootenay Airways since 2003.



''Entries with a green background indicates a destination in British Columbia.