Taquan Air Service Inc.
The airline was established as Taquan Air Service Incorporated in August 1977, and started out flying an air taxi service between Ketchikan International Airport and Metlakatla on Annette Island. By 1989 the company was flying seven airplanes with 45 employees,[8] and by 1997 28 planes with 175 employees.
Kootznoowoo Inc. 50% owner
1997 was the year that Kootznoowoo Inc., an Alaska Native Village Corporation for Angoon,[9] became 50% owner,[10] and the same year that the company appeared on the cover of Alaska Business Monthly.[11] At that point they were flying to 30 destinations, they had hubs in both Ketchikan and Sitka, and by flying to British Columbia, they had become an international air carrier. Taquan was now the largest floatplane company in the world, and the second largest commuter airline in Alaska, having boarded 243,000 people in 1997.
This was when Taquan decided to expand from FAR 135 air taxi operation to FAR 121 airline operation.[12][13] After spending a year to become FAR 121 certified, and buying a couple of British Aerospace Jetstream 32's, the new service was branded as AirOne. The mayor of Juneau helped launch the new venture in March by dedicating one of the planes as The Spirit of Juneau.[14] AirOne commenced operation on June 1, 1998,[15][16] and began non-stop service from Ketchikan to Juneau. Another route connected Canadian Airlines' hub at Prince Rupert Airport in British Columbia with Alaska Airlines' flights at Ketchikan.
But Taquan Air experienced its first fatal crash with a passenger in August 1998.[17] A new CEO was chosen for Kootznoowoo in July, who had to deal with a "precipitous decline" (Juneau Empire)[18] in the company's outlook. The new CEO foreshadowed future events with the announcement at the shareholders meeting in October 1998, "there is less capital available for new investments."[19] The costs of FAR 121 certification and a slump in the lumber industry[20][21] led to the AirOne operation ceasing on February 14, 1999.[22] Taquan Air liquidated assets and closed their Sitka hub.[23]
Kootznoowoo Inc.
Kootznoowoo Inc., acquired full ownership of the company on November 1, 1999,[24][25] and at the end of December 1999 laid off most or 80 of their workers[26] along with stopping flights to 20 communities. The downsizing at Taquan Air dampened the regional economy.[26][27][28] The Juneau Empire wrote about the economic effect on Prince of Wales Island (pop. 6000), which is the fourth-largest island in the US,"The loss of Taquan flights comes at a bad time for Prince of Wales Island, said Tom Briggs, city administrator for Craig. State ferry service for the island was recently reduced to one day a week to save money. 'Without a reasonable transportation base, the island's going to be damaged, the economy's going to be damaged and lifestyle's going to be damaged,' Briggs said...Blood samples taken at the clinic must be thrown out if they can't get to the lab in Ketchikan on time...The Craig City Council is asking the governor for assistance in the form of increased ferry service.
Venture Travel LLC
The general manager for Taquan between 1997 and 2000 had come on board when Taquan acquired the assets of his family's business, Ketchikan Air.[31][32] He now created a company Venture Travel, LLC. Venture Travel, LLC acquired assets from Taquan in April 2000, including five planes, the name, and the lease in Ketchikan.[33] Taquan Air gained business with U.S. Postal Service contracts for mail routes serving Hyder, Hydaburg, and Behm Canal.[33] Scheduled passenger flights resumed in 2001, also, the airline was awarded the U.S. Forest Service Air Service Contract in both 2000[33] and 2003[34] and continues to hold a U.S. Forest Service contract.
Small Business Person of the Year for Alaska, 1990
Taquan Air first moved into the spotlight in 1990, when the company's growth and development led to the owner's selection as Alaska Small Business Person of the Year, a selection made by the Alaska office of the U.S. Small Business Administration. In May 1990, the owner was honored in Washington, D.C. at the White House.[37][38]
Medallion Foundation awards and Sen. Ted Stevens
Taquan Air participated in a voluntary industry effort in Alaska to improve airline safety called the Medallion Foundation awards. Senator Ted Stevens (R, Alaska) was a decorated World War II pilot who later became floatplane qualified, and who was instrumental in establishing and providing congressional support for the Medallion Foundation.[39] By 2009, Taquan was one of seven airlines out of 37 operating in Alaska to receive all five stars in the program. Senator Stevens presented awards to Taquan in 2005 and 2008.[40][41]
Investigation of Misty Fjords National Monument air-tour-route accident
On July 24, 2007, a Taquan Air tour flight, operating a float-equipped de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver and carrying the pilot and four passengers from a cruise ship, impacted mountainous terrain with no survivors.[42][43] An estimate is that in 2007, 900,000 cruise-ship tourists visited Ketchikan. At the time of this accident, Taquan had commitments regarding sightseeing with each of the cruise lines serving Ketchikan.[44] According to the AP, the cruise line that had booked the tourists severed ties with Taquan after the accident for the remainder of 2007.[45][46]
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigated the accident and issued a report on July 31, 2008, finding that the primary cause of the crash was pilot misjudgment, but that inadequate supervision of the flight tour industry in southeast Alaska by the
Misty Fjords flightseeing
Taquan Air is one of several local services to provide air tours of the nearby Misty Fjords National Monument. These flights are associated with the cruise line industry that brings close to a million tourists each Summer to Ketchikan with its 7,000 residents.[49] Adventure guide Inside Passage and Coastal Alaska states, "One of the amazing things about floatplanes is just how smooth are...unless you're looking out the window and see that there isn't a wake from the floats anymore, it's hard to know you're even in the air." The air tour typically takes two to four hours. The tour goes from seashore up into the mountains and back, during which time the floatplane lands on water in a remote area, and tourists step out on the plane's pontoon.[50]
May 2019 accidents
In May 2019, two Taquan flights were involved in fatality accidents one week apart. After the second crash on May 20, the NTSB initiated a separate overall investigation of Taquan Air in addition to the accident investigations; the airline declined to comment.[51] Taquan Air suspended all flights on May 21.[52][53]
Amid increased oversight by the FAA, Taquan resumed limited cargo service on May 23,[54] scheduled passenger flights on May 31, and on-demand sightseeing tours on June 3, 2019.[55]
