Alaskan airline serving many communities, including Ketchikan heads towards bankruptcy

A major part of the Alaska aviation transportation system won't be returning to the skies once our northern neighbours begin to open up the Alaskan economy.

Ravn Air Group which served Ketchikan and 114 other communities in the state proposed a bankruptcy plan last week, one which will include selling all of its assets, including airplanes, with whatever money they bring in to be directed to the company's debts.

The airline has had a long serving relationship with many of Alaska's communities up and down the Alaska panhandle and beyond, having been in the aviation industry since 1948 when it began its time in the skies as Corvus Airlines.

A Ravn Air Group plane
(from Ravn website)

The troubles for Ravn Air Group make for just one story in what is shaping up to be a troubled era for global aviation, with many airlines revisiting their operational plans as the world makes plans to come out of the global shutdown of business and in particular aviation of the last six weeks.

In the Northwest area of BC, all scheduled air service outside of that to the Terrace airport was suspended in late March, with the cancellation of flights, to Prince Rupert, Smithers and Haida Gwaii continuing into May.

The Alaskan airline outlined their decision through a pair of information releases in early April, which at the time indicated that the were suspending operations in hopes of securing their future.

Ensuring our Future Together
Ravn Seeks Chapter 11 Protection

Somewhere between April 5th and May 1st that somewhat hopeful plan seems to have evaporated and with it one of Alaska's transportation links, including some of its medical transportation services to rural Alaska.

Some notes on the decision by Ravn Air to bring an end to its operations in the state can be reviewed below:

Ravn's bankruptcy leaves many rural Alaskans without medical transport during pandemic
Ravn's bankruptcy leaves medical transport vaccum in rural Alaska
Ravn files plan to liquidate, as bankruptcy proceeds
Ravn Air Group files for bankruptcy, stops flights and lays off remaining staff due to COVID-19

More notes on aviation on the North Coast and Northwest can be found from our archive page.