Integra Air closes its Medicine Hat operation
A company that has held a prominent role in the local aviation industry has closed its Medicine Hat operation.
“Right now we have nothing in Medicine Hat,” said Integra Air CEO John Macek.
Integra held the fixed-wing air ambulance contract for Medicine Hat for many years, but in September, 2017, Alberta Health Services signed a contract with CanWest Air to provide service across most of the province, including this region, effective April 1, 2018.
In February, Integra stopped all its scheduled flights between Medicine Hat and Edmonton that had commenced in August 2016. A combination of things factored into the decision including a lack of passengers.
“We couldn’t maintain the runs with two or three people on board,” said Macek.
Integra had hoped to be successful in operating a new scheduled service on behalf of WestJet out of Medicine Hat but was not successful in that bid. WestJet will commence this service in June.
Macek describes not being successful in that bid as a “tough pill to swallow but it is business.” He said he feels nobody cared about Integra anymore once WestJet announced it was coming in to Medicine Hat.
After Integra stopped scheduled flights from Medicine Hat to Edmonton, its pilots were retasked to other areas of the company but it was still offering a service that included refueling aircraft and other ramp services in Medicine Hat.
Macek says on top of all the other setbacks, the final blow was CanWest deciding not to purchase fuel through them. Integra was going through financial difficulties, Macek says, and was looking at ways to be sustainable.
Executive Flight Centre then gave a fuel tank to CanWest so that they could have their own fuel, which crippled Integra, said Macek.
“We were done. That was half of our sales gone,” said Macek.
The decision CanWest made to have its own fuel supply was not one of economics, said a CanWest representative. It was about the security of being in control of its fuel needs, said Jake Fehr, CEO of CanWest. There were occasions when Integra had run out of fuel.
“They ran out of fuel twice. I got really, really concerned about it,” said Fehr.
Because the fuel source for CanWest was also Executive Flight Centre, and CanWest had an existing relationship with the organization, it was considered acceptable at the airport, said Fehr. CanWest having a backup generator also ensures there is a way to pump the fuel if there is a power outage.
The Integra hangar at Medicine Hat airport remains in Integra’s name, said Macek.
“I hope one day that we will be able to return to Medicine Hat,” said Macek. “We don’t want to give up our roots.”
Integra is working on reinventing itself and is still currently operating in Calgary, said Macek.