KF Aerospace bolsters fleet to fulfil lucrative Purolator contract

These planes look like the workhorses they are.

Stocky, surdy and windowless, they fly cargo around either as bulk freight or in containers.

Kelowna-based KF Aerospace knows the value of these types of planes -- especially when it comes to fulfilling its 10-year renewal contract with Purolator Courier for the BC feeder network.

The feeder network see planes loaded with Purolator packages, either as bulk cargo or in containers, so KF can fly them between Kelowna and Vancouver; Vancouver and Kamloops; Victoria and Nanaimo; and Kamloops and Prince George so they can ten be delivered by trucks on the ground.

KF first acquired an ATR72-500F freighter plane last year.

KF has already done a full cargo door conversion on that aircraft at its Kelowna retrofit facility so it can fly cargo and containers around.

The second plane acquired from ACIA Aero of Dublin is an ATR72-500 bulk freighter that requires minimal work to bring into service.

As such, it will be into KF's cargo fleet as early as April.

A bulk freighter allows cargo that isn't in a container to be loaded.

A third aircraft to help with the Purolator contract will be sourced later this year.

It will be one that can be loaded with containers.

The ATR72-500s are replacing old Convair 580s to run the Purolator routes.

ATR72-500s are more fuel-efficient and provide more flexibility in cargo handling than the Convair.

"Following the awarding of our new air cargo contract, we have committed to a quick turnaround time to implement the fleet renewal," said KF CEO Tracy Medve.

"ACIA has provided a quality aircraft that meets our needs in a very short period of time. This latest transaction represents our first acquisition from ACIA, but our business partnership extends back over many years and we look forward to continuing our partnership with ACIA."

KF Aerospace (formerly Kelowna Flightcraft) has been working with Purolator for almost 50 years.

It started in 1976 when company founder Barry Lapointe helped Purolator in a pinch, piloting a plane himself to get packages from Vancouver to Toronto in an overnight rush.

At one time, KF's contract with Purolator was to fly packages across the country, but since 2015 it's been to exclusively fly Purolator's BC feeder network.

The 10-year renewal of the contract with Purolator is part of a boom at KF Aerospace, which is Kelowna's largest private-sector employer with 850 workers.

KF does maintenance work and plane retrofits for clients such as WestJet, Air Canada, Icelandair, United Airlines, Air North, Alaska Airlines and Sunwing as well as government and military customers.

And, KF is a 50/50 partner with CAE (Canadian Aviation Electronics) in SkyAlyne, the consortium that has multi-billion-dollar contracts to do Royal Canadian Air Force pilot and aircrew training and aircraft maintenance over the next 25 years.