Lynden Air Cargo (L2, Anchorage Ted Stevens) has signed a Cooperation Agreement with Canadian operator First Air (Carp) that will ensure the continued availability of Lockheed Hercules charters in Canada’s North.
Under the agreement, Lynden Air Cargo will assume ownership of First Air’s sole remaining Hercules on April 30, 2015. Thereafter, subject to regulatory approval, the US cargo specialist will avail the freighter to First Air on a charter basis. The turboprop will operate out of First Air's Yellowknife base where its ability to transport heavy, outsized cargo to short, gravel runways will prove ideal for clients in Canada's remoter northern settlements.
“For a long time the Hercules made perfect sense, but markets are changing," Bert van der Stege, Vice President Commercial at First Air, said. "The cost of operating and maintaining Hercules freighters has risen significantly in recent years. It is no longer viable to keep Hercules in our fleet."
Lynden Air specializes in Hercules operations employing the type on international charter flights as well as on scheduled flights between the Alaskan towns of Anchorage Ted Stevens, Bethel, Kotzebue, and Nome.
