Trip Report: The Longest Flight from Canada’s Yukon

Air North is well-known for its excellent onboard expertise, and for being one of many few airways left in Canada that provides free meals to all passengers on each single route. For years, it has slowly been increasing from its dwelling base in Whitehorse, Yukon, to locations that make sense for Yukoners.

Again in 2022, the airline expanded flights to the nation’s most populated metropolis, Toronto, from Whitehorse with twice weekly flights in the course of the peak summer time months. Nonetheless, that flight to Toronto made an intermediate cease for gas in Yellowknife within the Northwest Territories, as they had been operated on the Boeing 737-500. In the summertime of 2024, the airline obtained its first Boeing 737-800, which boasts bigger capability and longer vary.

This summer time, Air North determined to transform a type of one-stop flights through Yellowknife to a nonstop flight, which started in the course of the second week of June. We had been lucky sufficient to go on this inaugural nonstop flight out of Toronto on what’s now the longest scheduled flight within the airline’s 48-year historical past. Similar to the one-stop flight, this nonstop flight from Whitehorse to Toronto operates outbound someday, after which returns to Whitehorse the subsequent day to allow them to use the identical crew.

When choosing your seat on the flight, Air North does a extremely good job of displaying which seats have home windows and which don’t. As an AvGeek everyone knows the ache of choosing a window seat, after which getting on the aircraft and discovering a clean windowless wall the place your seat is. With Air North you keep away from this, as their reserving website has seat maps for each plane of their fleet displaying what seats have home windows, which don’t, and which have partial home windows.

A seat map of Air North’s Boeing 737-800. (Picture: Air North)

Day of the Flight

I used to be already in Toronto, so I headed to the airport about three hours earlier than departure time. With just one nonstop flight every week from Toronto to Whitehorse, you don’t wish to miss it, so ensure to reach early. Air North operates from Terminal 1 at Toronto Pearson Worldwide, and right now of the morning there weren’t plenty of flights leaving, so safety wasn’t terrible.

Air North’s ticket counter indicators at Toronto Pearson. (Picture: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)

As talked about, the plane sits at Toronto in a single day, so about 1.5 hours earlier than the flight it was towed into our departure gate. Though this was an inaugural flight, Toronto isn’t a brand new metropolis for the airline, so there was no fanfare on the gate or on board. Even so, it was nonetheless enjoyable being part of this occasion within the airline’s historical past.

My plane for the flight as much as Whitehorse could be C-FNYA, a Boeing 737-800 that was initially in-built 2011 and got here to Air North in October 2024, because the airline’s second Boeing 737–800. The plane has one thing attention-grabbing painted on the entrance of it: “Jidii nakhwats’oo gogwijiłcheii nakhwadrii ts’at tr’agwanah’in,” which is Gwich’in for “Imaginative and prescient the center sees,” a phrase that was chosen by the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, which owns 49 % of Air North. This title is painted on the nostril of each the airways’ Boeing 737-800s.

Boarding begins about 40 minutes earlier than departure. Since Air North boards plane from again to entrance, and since my seat was towards the entrance of the cabin, I used to be one of many final passengers on board the airplane.

Subsequent to the door of the plane was the Yukon flag, the phrases “Vuntut Gwitchin,” and an image of a caribou, a logo of survival, delight, and power for the Vuntut Gwitchin for hundreds of years.

Subsequent to the entry door for my Air North flight. (Picture: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)

This was a Boeing Subsequent Technology plane, so the cabin was newer wanting, with blue temper lights alongside the ceiling. My seat was 5F, a window seat on the best aspect of the plane.

Begin-up and pushback didn’t take very lengthy in any respect, and per Canadian laws, all the bulletins had been made in English in addition to French.

After a fast taxi to the runway, we had been within the air for the lengthy flight as much as Whitehorse. It was a pleasant day in Toronto, and I may even see downtown within the distance.

Taking off from Toronto Pearson. (Picture: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)

It didn’t take us very lengthy to climb as much as a cruising altitude of 36,000 toes, after passing by way of a handful of clouds on the best way up.

There was a good quantity of area on board the aircraft, together with at my toes, even when there was a bag below the seat. Within the seatback pocket, there’s {a magazine} in addition to a sick bag and naturally, a security card. Within the journal, there may be details about the plane within the fleet in addition to the route map, which doesn’t but have the Toronto to Whitehorse nonstop line, although I think about the subsequent challenge will.

Within the Air

First to come back out was the drink cart, and so they provided many free drink choices like roasted espresso, tender drinks, and juice. Additionally they supply alcohol, however that it’s a must to buy. The meal selections for the principle course had been then defined. They’d rooster Alfredo pasta, beef brisket, or tofu.

I selected the meat brisket as I used to be curious how an airline would put together it. This feature got here with Brussels sprouts and mac and cheese, with bread and butter on the aspect, in addition to a salad and a brownie for dessert. I’ll say it was good seeing the meals being handed out utilizing precise oven mitts, because it gave it that additional home made contact.

My scorching beef brisket meal on Air North. (Picture: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)

The meals was tremendous good, and it isn’t fairly often you discover scorching meals for all passengers, not to mention with a number of choices, on flights that aren’t long-haul flights with widebody plane.

Not very lengthy after the meals was cleaned up, the sky was coated with clouds and smoke attributable to some fires in southern Canada. I fell asleep with out realizing it, and I wakened simply earlier than beginning our descent into Whitehorse.

Cloudy and smokey skies above Canada. (Picture: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)

One other factor the airline is extensively identified for is its heat cookies earlier than touchdown. Sadly, I slept by way of it on this explicit flight, however I did get one on one other Air North flight I took a few days later, which was from Whitehorse all the way down to Vancouver.

As a result of fires, the view wasn’t the best going into Whitehorse, however I used to be nonetheless in a position to see the define of mountains within the distance in addition to the Yukon River.

Had there been no smoke, I’d’ve been handled to some stunning views of snow-capped mountains, even in mid-June, as we’re comparatively near the Arctic Circle.

Going into smoky Whitehorse. (Picture: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)

We landed simply earlier than 1 p.m., after 5 hours and 37 minutes of flying time from Toronto. The airport had a handful of building tasks happening so we used the shorter runway, and we additionally needed to go to the tip and switch round earlier than back-taxing alongside the runway to get to the terminal.

Conclusion

I had a fully improbable time on board this inaugural nonstop flight from Toronto to Whitehorse, and though there wasn’t any fanfare or celebration for the flight, I’m glad I acquired to be on board.

The terminal in Whitehorse. (Picture: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)

The meals was improbable, and the crew was wonderful as properly. I want extra airways would have free scorching meals for all passengers on longer flights that cross the nation like these, as they provide passengers the sensation of an elevated expertise and make them wish to come again.

I wish to point out that I talked to a few folks on board who had been on the flight from Toronto to Whitehorse when it stops in Yellowknife, and so they weren’t conscious that they had booked themselves a nonstop flight from Toronto to Whitehorse. However they mentioned they had been very joyful they did, because the cease in Yellowknife provides an hour or two to this already lengthy journey.

The outbound flight from Whitehorse to Toronto operates on Thursdays, with the return to Whitehorse occurring on Friday.

This nonstop Toronto to Whitehorse route started in mid-June 2025 and continues till the center of August 2025, at which level the nonstop will finish for the season and can convert again to a one-stop flight through Yellowknife for the remainder of the season, which ends in October. Whereas the airline can’t say for sure, they did point out that this nonstop flight was massively profitable and so they think about will probably be again once more for the height summer time season subsequent 12 months.

An Air North Boeing 737-500. (Picture: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)

Whereas in Whitehorse, I used to be in a position to go on a pair extra of Air North’s flights, together with their basic Boeing 737–500 and ATR, together with an superior interview with the airline’s CEO, Joe Sparling. Articles for all of those will probably be out within the close to future.

A video account of this journey report will be discovered under.

Joey has all the time been eager about planes for so long as he can keep in mind. He grew up in Central New York in the course of the early 2000s when US Airways Specific turboprops dominated the skies. Being from a non-aviation household made it more durable for him to be round planes and would solely spend about three hours a month on the airport. He was so excited when he may drive by himself, the very first thing he did along with his driver’s license was get ice cream and go aircraft recognizing for all the day. He graduated from Western Michigan College in 2022 with a B.S. in Aviation Administration & Operations and a Minor in Enterprise, and at present works for a serious airline in his hometown.

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