Hawkair will be flying back to the islands, we found out a few weeks ago-and now the airline's Darryl Tucker has confirmed they will be adding Masset to their list of destinations.
Their new schedule will be up and running in time for the tourist season, and will do one round trip per day, starting in Vancouver at 7:30 am, arriving in Sandspit at 9:20, leaving Sandspit at 9:50, arriving in Masset at 10:10, leaving Masset at 10:45, and finally, arriving in Vancouver at 12:45.
Casey Jarvis of Masset Travel thinks this is great. "I've been talking to them for years," she said, encouraging them to try flying to Masset. "It will be really good for Masset residents." Right now, it is quite expensive to fly to Vancouver from Masset via Rupert on TK Air - $700 or more. And although she's happy to see a new airline coming in, it's unfortunate that it might put TK out of business - a factor that has been a deterrent for Hawkair for years, she said.
Masset airport manager Trevor Jarvis said he has not yet heard from Hawkair. "They certainly haven't talked to us," he said. But he added that it makes sense to him for people at the north end to be able to fly from Masset instead of driving all the way down to catch the ferry.