It all began in 1976 when KF Aerospace (then Kelowna Flightcraft) founder Barry Lapointe helped Purolator in a pinch.
The overnight courier needed to get packages from Vancouver to Toronto pronto and when it asked Lapointe if he could do it on short notice he did -- piloting the plane himself.
It was the start of a long and lucrative business relationship between the two companies.
Over the past 48 years, KF Aerospace has supported Purolator's cargo operations, first flying packages across the country and since 2015 exclusively flying Purolator's BC feeder network.
What that means is KF Aerospace loads its planes with Purolator packages and flies them between Kelowna and Vancouver; Vancouver and Kamloops and Victoria and Nanaimo; and Kamloops to Prince George so they can then be delivered by truck on the ground.
The latest news is that KF Aerospace today announced the renewal of its contract with Purolator for another 10 years for the BC feeder network.
It's just another piece in KF Aerospace's massive overall success.
With 850 employees at its Kelowna headquarters next to Kelowna International Airport, KF Aerospace is the city's largest private-sector employer.
It's become an international force doing maintenance and plane retrofits for clients such as WestJet, Air Canada, Icelandair, United Airlines, Air North, Alaska Airlines, Sunwing and numerous government and military clients.
As a 50/50 partner with CAE (Canadian Aviation Electronics) in SkyAlyne, KF Aerospace has a share of the $11.2 billion and $10 billion contracts to do Royal Canadian Air Force pilot and aircrew training and aircraft maintenance over the next 25 years.
KF Aerospace also won 2024 'large business of the year' at the recent Kelowna Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards.
Back to the renewed contract with Purolator.
KF Aerospace will upgrade its Purolator fleet with three ATR72-500F freighter planes that can haul both containers and bulk cargo.
The ATRs will replace three older Convair planes.
KF Aerospace is acquiring and converting the ATRs itself to cargo planes.
One of the conversions is almost finished at KF Aerospace's Kelowna facility.
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"We are thrilled to continue our long-standing relationship with Purolator, a collaboration that has grown and evolved over nearly half a century," said KF Aerospace CEO Tracy Medve.
"This new, 10-year contract and fleet renewal demonstrates our shared commitment to providing reliable cargo services across British Columbia. The addition of the ATR72-500F aircraft will enhance range, capacity and efficiency, ensuring that Purolator's mission of on-time reliability is extended well into the future."
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Purolator is also stoked about the contract extension and new fleet.
"With the largest freight and courier network in Canada, Purolator is committed to providing exceptional service to our customers across the country," said Purolator's director of air network operations, Jay Kirkpatrick.
"These fleet upgrades will ensure we continue to deliver the level of service both we and our customers expect."
