Air Saguenay was a regional airline based in Jonquière, Quebec, Canada (now Saguenay, Quebec, Canada).
Air Saguenay was a regional airline based in Jonquière, Quebec, Canada (now Saguenay, Quebec, Canada).
In the early 1960s Peter Schoch, mink breeder, bought Saguenay Air Service, a carrier based at Kenogami Lake, owned by Saguenay Aero Club and used to train pilots. Schoch decided to open a new seaplane base, Lac Sébastien Water Aerodrome at St-David de Falardeau, Lake Sebastien, to offer a better service to companies like Alcan or Price Brothers, fishermen, hunters and services for forest fire patrol. The company expanded and merged in 1969 with Gagnon Air Service to form a new company, Air Saguenay.
In 1980, Jean-Claude Tremblay became the new owner, pushing the company one step further with his personalized approach and the quality of his services. A second seaplane base, Chutes-des-Passes/Lac Margane Water Aerodrome was opened at Chute-des-Passes, now Passes-Dangereuses, in 1982. It was a strategic location for accessing new territories for fishing and moose hunting and to better position the company towards the north. 1984 was a major year for the expansion of Air Saguenay. In 1984 it purchased Air Caribou in Fermont and also acquired Club Chambeaux outfitters which gave the company access to great fishing and caribou hunting territory in Northern Quebec. In 1986, the growth continued with the addition of a new seaplane base in Schefferville. Tremblay also purchased many other small bush operators in the 1990s, to reinforce the position of his company throughout Northern Quebec.
November 2019