Air Saguenay

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{{cite web | url = https://airlinehistory.co.uk/airline/gagnon-air-service/ | title = Gagnon Air Service | publisher = Airline History | access-date = 31 January 2020}} 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.

Since 1998, the carrier expanded again with the purchase of Expeditair in 1999,{{cite web | url = https://airlinehistory.co.uk/airline/expeditair/ | title = Expeditair | publisher = Airline History | access-date = 31 January 2020}} Grand Island Aviation in 2000,{{cite web | url = https://airlinehistory.co.uk/airline/grand-island-aviation/ | title = Grand Island Aviation | publisher = Airline History | access-date = 3 February 2020}} Aéro Golfe in 2001,{{cite web | url = https://airlinehistory.co.uk/airline/aero-golfe/ | title = Aéro Golfe | publisher = Airline History | access-date = 2 February 2020}} Labrador Air Safari in 2006{{cite web | url = https://airlinehistory.co.uk/airline/labrador-air-safari/ | title = Labrador Air Service | publisher = Airline History | access-date = 28 January 2020}} and Deraps Aviation in 2011,{{cite web | url = https://airlinehistory.co.uk/airline/deraps-aviation/ | title = Deraps Aviation | publisher = Airline History | access-date = 28 January 2020}} both companies located on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River and in 2006 acquired Ashuanipi Aviation.{{cite web | url = https://airlinehistory.co.uk/airline/ashuanipi-aviation/ | title = Ashuanipi Aviation | publisher = Airline History | access-date = 18 January 2020}} Air Saguenay has now become, under Jean-Claude Tremblay and his son Jean Tremblay, an important bush carrier in Eastern Canada.{{Cite web |url=http://www.airsaguenay.com/index_en.php?categories=2 |title=Air Saguenay website |access-date=2007-03-30 |archive-date=2017-08-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824221103/http://www.airsaguenay.com/index_en.php?categories=2 |url-status=dead }}

Air Saguenay also operated Lac Pau (Caniapiscau) Water Aerodrome and Sept-Îles/Lac Rapides Water Aerodrome.{{WAS}}

In November 2019, facing several challenges, notably the end of caribou hunting in Quebec and a lawsuit following the July accident, Air Saguenay ceased operations.{{cite web | url = https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/quebecs-air-saguenay-closing-down-after-plane-crash-lawsuit-business-woes | title = Quebec's Air Saguenay closing down after plane crash lawsuit, business woes | website = National Post | access-date = 11 June 2020}}

As of December 2020 Transport Canada had 16 aircraft listed but only two with operating certificates:[http://www.airsaguenay.com/index_en.php?categories=99 Charter in general]{{TCregister|AIR+SAGUENAY|Air Saguenay|2019-08-29}}

• On 16 July 2010, a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver floatplane, registration {{Airreg|C|GAXL|,}} crashed into a wooded mountainside and caught fire about {{convert|12|NM|lk=in}} west southwest of Lake Péribonca, Quebec, after encountering adverse weather conditions seven minutes into the flight. Of the six people on board, the pilot and three passengers were killed.{{cite web|title=Aviation Investigation Report A10Q0111|url=http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/aviation/2010/a10q0111/a10q0111.asp|website=Transportation Safety Board of Canada|publisher=Government of Canada|access-date=27 August 2015}}{{cite news|title=Pilot error blamed for 2010 Quebec plane crash|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/pilot-error-blamed-for-2010-quebec-plane-crash-1.1152269|access-date=27 August 2015|work=CBC News|publisher=CBC/Radio-Canada|date=17 January 2012}}{{cadors-accident|2013C2311|Air Saguenay (C-GAXL)}}
• On 23 August 2015, a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver floatplane, registration {{Airreg|C|FKRJ|,}} crashed into a wooded mountainside and caught fire near Les Bergeronnes, Quebec, shortly after taking off from Long Lake, about {{convert|10|NM|abbr=on}} north of Tadoussac, on a sightseeing flight. All people on board, the pilot and six passengers, were killed.{{cite news|title=Float plane crash near Tadoussac, Que., kills 6|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/float-plane-crash-near-tadoussac-que-kills-6-1.3201370|access-date=26 August 2015|work=CBC News|publisher=CBC/Radio-Canada|date=24 August 2015}}{{cite news|title=Four Britons among six killed in plane crash on Quebec's North Shore|url=https://montrealgazette.com/news/quebec/plane-with-six-passengers-crashes-in-quebecs-north-shore|access-date=26 August 2015|work=Montreal Gazette|publisher=Postmedia Network|date=25 August 2015}}{{cadors-accident|2015Q1614|Air Saguenay (C-FKRJ)}}
• On 15 July 2019, a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver floatplane crashed into a Labrador Lake late Monday night. The aircraft was on flight path from a fishing lodge near Crossroads Lake, near the Quebec border, to a remote camp on Mistastin Lake in northern Labrador. On board were seven people, four of them are confirmed dead including the pilot and the fate of the remaining three is unclear as they are missing. The cause of the crash has not yet been determined however officials with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada have been called in. All seven people died and the crash forced the closure of the airline.[https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/fourth-body-recovered-from-site-of-labrador-plane-crash-three-still-missing-1.4523616 Fourth body recovered from site of Labrador plane crash, three still missing][https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/search-for-air-saguenay-crash-focuses-on-discovery-of-new-debris Search for Air Saguenay crash focuses on discovery of new debris][https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/canadian-armed-forces-end-search-for-air-saguenay-crash-victims Canadian Armed Forces end search for Air Saguenay crash victims]

• History of aviation in Canada
• List of defunct airlines of Canada

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{{commons category|Air Saguenay}}

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{{Defunct airlines of Canada}}

Category:Airlines established in 1960

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Category:Regional airlines of Quebec

Category:Defunct companies of Quebec

Category:Saguenay, Quebec

Category:Seaplane operators

Category:1960 establishments in Quebec

Category:2019 disestablishments in Quebec