Rise Air, a Canadian passenger and freight carrier, relies on the incoming ATR 72 turboprop to lead a new era of growth that could expand beyond Saskatchewan's hometown.
Rise Air's CEO recently told Flightglobal that Derek Nice, Derek Nice, Derek Nice and Derek Nice, airline options are limited, especially in the market for utility aircraft in production.
In fact, ATR is the only Western producer of large private turboprops. De Havilland Canada was offering a Dash 8-400, but stopped production of that type in 2022, but we're talking about a production restart.
“If you need a new aircraft and you're flying on a gravel runway, you don't have much choice,” Nice says of the ATR.
In November, the company announced plans to become a Canadian launch customer for the ATR 72-600 series when it acquired the first of its types later this year.
Powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127XT engine pair, the turboprop is configured to seat 68 passengers.
Rise Air recently told FlightGlobal that it hopes the first ATR 72 will enter service early next year. It also discloses plans to lease two more ATR 72-600s scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2026.
Nice said the Indigenously-owned airline's decision to choose the ATR 72-600 was based primarily on maintenance and supply chain concerns.
“We see serious reliability issues with older aircraft,” he says. “The supply chain is not functioning like it has done in the past, and maintenance costs are really rising rapidly.
“There is strong support for the -600 series in the aviation community,” he adds. “The supply chain is more robust than other aircraft types.”
However, the new aircraft represent the long-term investment of the community that is rising to provide key passengers, cargo and Medevac services where aviation is the only viable option.
“We have clients who are investing in the North with a 20 and 30-year perspective for these investments,” Nice says. “With new aircraft, we can match the lives of our customers who support the lives of our aircraft.”
Lifeline North
Rise Air is operated primarily from a base in Saskatoon, the largest city in Saskatchewan, and offers a mix of scheduled charter flying. It mainly serves remote First Nation communities and specializes in the energy and resource sectors as well as labor transport for various government agencies.
“The entire legal system in northern Saskatchewan, for example, is based on aviation,” Nice says. “We will fly judges, lawyers and enforcers to different communities.
Rise is one of Canada's largest Indigenously owned airlines and is a group that includes Boeing 737 operator Air Inuit and turboprop operator Wasaya Air, based in northern Canada and Thunder Bay. Its shareholders are made up of 12 different First Nation communities or territory
“Our shareholders expect us to meet their needs and concerns and our mission is to truly support them,” Nice says. “Without the air at the rise, much of the North will be crushed to a halt. Everything from the education system to the health system.”
In addition to the French-made ATR turboprop, the Rise Air Flies Beechcraft 1900s and De Havilland Canada DHC-6 twin otters, and Beechcraft King Air as part of the Medevac operation.
“These are all ageing aircraft and we have not made any decisions about the lifespan of those aircraft in our fleet,” he says. “We accept other options.”
Fleet data from aerial analytics firm Cirium shows the Rise Air, which currently operates four ATRs 42s, with two more stored. There are some twin otters from over 50 years old.
The carrier's ATR 42 combi aircraft is configured to seat 34 passengers and carry cargo, with the average passenger flying into the wilderness, bringing about 45kg (100 pounds) of checked luggage.
“That's because they carry groceries and other items.
Growing room
Rise Air has to grow its network, fleet and workforce as it has an obligation to create jobs in communities that serve its shareholders.
Carriers say they will consider new turboprop types to come to the market. In addition to De Havilland's talk about rebooting the Dash 8 output, Embraer is making fun of the possibility of developing a new turboprop.
But Nice says the ATR 72 is a “large aircraft” that the company is betting on its future.
“We have to be able to continue growing,” he says. “We must believe that we have a very solid operating foundation for new aircraft and the investments we make in people and training, which gives us the opportunity to grow.”
The career, which celebrates its operation for 70 years this year, employs around 90 pilots. Nice hopes that its figures will rise to around 120 within the next two years, with carriers implementing a focused pilot-retention and recruitment initiative to get there.
Flying in strict environments is “certainly challenging for the average pilot,” says Nice, but many of the Rise Air's captains and first officers come from Canada and elsewhere in the world to test Rise's skills.
It works mainly on gravel runways that stay in bitumen. This usually creates takeoff weight limits in the length range of 915-1,219m (3,000-4,000 feet).
The pilot regularly encounters extreme weather, including ice conditions, further reducing payloads and “creates our challenges,” says Nice. In the summer, carriers are ready for wildfire-related evacuation.
“Last year we evacuated about 250 miners from the mine site. “We did it for 24 hours when it was threatened by a forest fire. It happens very often for us.”
Nice has been working as CEO of Rise Air since 2021 after previously leading the island-hopping Air Vanuatu business. The South Pacific looks like a world away from remote Canadian villages, but Nice sees similarities between operations.
“Aside from the fact that temperatures can be very different, the types of operations are very similar,” he says. “Domestic operations in Vanuatu have dealt with extreme weather events such as volcanic eruptions and cyclones, and have jumped into rough strips or short runways.
“Here we are not an island, but some of the airports we fly are only accessible by air,” he adds.
Towards Rise's future, Nice envisions growth opportunities outside of Saskatchewan. He refers to nearby provinces in the states of Alberta, Manitoba and the northwest region.
