A familiar face is returning to the skies of the North Coast, but this time flying under his own company banner.
Ken Cote, who has been flying in the region for more than four decades, announced the launch of Ocean Pacific Air Services on May 16. Cote said there was one driving force behind his return to the air.
“It is mainly because I still love the business. I still love flying and I still love the people,” he said, noting the business will put him back at the familiar confines of Seal Cove.
“I started flying from Seal Cove with Transprovincial in 1984 ... it’s what I’ve done my whole life and I’ve spent most of my career there.”
It’s taken eight months of paperwork to get Ocean Pacific Air Services off the ground, but the company is ready to begin offering flights aboard a six-passenger Dehavilland Beaver.
“We’ll start with the one plane and then, as needed, add more,” explained Cote, adding the destinations being served are up to the clients.
“We serve the North Coast, Haida Gwaii, the Mid-Coast and Southeast Alaska. You can charter us anywhere, and I have been to these places a million times so it’s familiar territory.”
In recognition of Cote’s connection with North Coast First Nations, when Ocean Pacific first takes flight it will do so with an original logo designed by emerging Gitga’at artist Kelli Clifton whose work is displayed at the Vancouver International Airport.