Gulf Island Seaplanes Announces Addition of Vancouver Harbour Base

The Indigenous flight operator expands post-pandemic, offering daily flights from Vancouver Harbour.

Gulf Island Seaplanes announced a new base for their flight offering today, adding Vancouver Harbour to their scheduled service. The Indigenous airline now has two main bases, Gabriola Island and Vancouver Harbour, connecting passengers to seven breathtaking destinations across British Columbia.

The addition of the new base will significantly increase the airline’s ability to reach a broader range of destinations for travellers to discover. “We took our time to refocus our purpose during the pandemic, and we are so proud to not only come out the other side of the pandemic with our business intact but expand our business further than ever before,” says Alison Evans, Co-Founder, Gulf Island Seaplanes. “Flying from Vancouver Harbour positions us in a competitive market as it is a central and desirable location, which will open us up to further partnerships and connect us to more passengers.”

Now offering flights from two main bases (Gabriola Island and Vancouver Harbour), Gulf Island Seaplanes provides scheduled services to seven destinations, including Gabriola Island, Decourcy Island,Thetis Island, Ruxton Island, Vancouver YVR, Vancouver Harbour, and Hornby Island – the newest location with exclusive dock rights. In addition, they offer scenic flights of Vancouver, from Vancouver Harbour for those wanting to explore the area from the sky.

The fleet landing into Vancouver Harbour includes two Beaver’s with a capacity of five passengers and one Caravan, with a capacity for nine passengers. One Beaver (F-HRT) is wrapped with artwork by Tom Spetter at Animikii, featuring a thunderbird, a lightning snake, and a face representing their passengers. The mountain peak in the logo also represents Stegyawden (known as Hagwilget Peak), which is a nod to the birthplace of Gulf Island Seaplanes Co-Founder, Alison Evans, who is Gitxsan, from Hazelton, BC, of the Hagwilget Village nation.

With strong ties to the community, Gulf Island Seaplanes has partnered with the magnificent, Indigenous-owned Siwash Lake Wilderness Resort, providing guest transportation from YVR to the luxury resort in the Caribou area. Similar partnerships with other Indigenous-owned properties are coming soon.

By spring 2023, visitors will enjoy cultural scenic flights around Vancouver, from Vancouver Harbour where passengers can learn about the area’s rich history, resilience and culture. Additionally, chartered routes are available for passengers who would like to travel outside the scheduled services.

For more information about Gulf Island Seaplanes, visit https://gulfislandseaplanes.com/

Gulf Island Seaplanes
Indigenous-owned airline Gulf Island Seaplanes was founded by Alison and Sean Evans. With hundreds of islands and lakes available to visit by chartered flight, Gulf Island Seaplanes offer various scheduled and chartered seaplane services across British Columbia. Embracing cultural diversity, they are committed to their passengers and ensure every interaction from departure to arrival to be personable, memorable and enjoyable. For more information, visit https://gulfislandseaplanes.com/

About Indigenous Tourism BC
Indigenous Tourism BC (ITBC) is a non-profit, Stakeholder-based organization committed to growing and promoting a sustainable, culturally rich Indigenous tourism industry. Through training, information resources, networking opportunities and cooperative marketing programs, ITBC is a resource for Indigenous entrepreneurs and communities in BC who are operating or looking to start a tourism business. ITBC works closely with tourism, business, educational and government organizations to help BC’s Indigenous tourism businesses offer quality experiences and actively promote these experiences to visitors and residents. www.indigenousbc.com

Media release and image provided by Kaya Arai, Nine Point Agency.