News
Black Lake Denesuline First Nation Acquire 25% of Pronto Airways
"Pronto has been seeking to strengthen its relationship in the North. The Black Lake First Nation is committed to developing healthier, more sustainable communities. We are confident that we have created a mutually beneficial working partnership." Dennis Baranieski, Pronto Airways
NSBA Awards Handed Out
Saskatoon businesses honoured
Reported By Joe Hoover
Posted March 16, 2010 - 10:40pm
The NSBA Business Builders Awards were handed out Tuesday night.
Pronto Airways was one of the big winners.
They took home the prize for Team Building.
Vice President and General Manager, Dennis Baranieski says it's simply a matter of engaging your staff.
"They have their hand on the pulse of what's going on, and they really understand the challenges of doing work 500 kilometers north of Saskatoon, for example, and what those geographical and climate needs are to successfully run a business there."
He doesn't lay claim to any groundbreaking initiatives.
He says Pronto simply looks to what other industry leaders are doing to succeed.
Other winners were Credit Union Centre for Management Quality, SIAST for Job Creation and Reed Security for Small Business.
Pronto Airways Wins NSBA Team Building Award
The StarPhoenix March 17, 2010
The North Saskatoon Business Association has named its Business Builder Award winners for 2010.
The awards were presented Tuesday at an event at TCU Place.
A highlight was the presentation of a lifetime achievement award to Shirley Ryan, the NSBA's longtime executive director who started her career with the organization in July 1990 and retired at the end of 2009.
The winners are:
- Management Quality: Credit Union Centre
- New Direction Award: Horizon
- Job creation Award: Regency Advisory Corp.
- Team Building Award: Pronto Airways LP
- Small Business Award: Reed Security
- Export Award: PSI Technologies Inc.
- Green Award: Saskatoon Custom Powder Coating Corp.
- Leadership Award: Handy Group of Companies
- Safe Employer Award: Travelodge Hotel Saskatoon
- Member of the Year: Bryan McCrea
- Business Builder Award: North Ridge Development
Pronto Airways takes flight to Nunavut destinations
Weekly direct flights a response to needs of businesses: airline
Cassandra Kyle, The StarPhoenix
Published: Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Pronto Airways LP is flying where no Saskatoon airline has flown before, says a company executive.
As of Saturday, the Saskatoon-based company will offer weekly flights to Rankin Inlet and Baker Lake, Nunavut, in response to demand from mining and exploration companies, said Dennis Baranieski, Pronto's vice-president of business development. He believes the airline is the first to provide direct scheduled service from Saskatchewan to Nunavut.
"(When) the exploration and mining sector expands their reaches into the Far North looking for opportunities for their businesses, so do we, so this is really a result of that," Baranieski said.
He says the stops at Rankin Inlet and Baker Lake are an extension of routes the airline already uses to serve northern Saskatchewan communities such as Stony Rapids, La Ronge and Uranium City. The flight will make one stop in Points North to refuel and spend a short time in Rankin Inlet before moving on to Baker Lake.
"Time for employees and management is critical. This will be a little over four hours in each direction and into Saskatoon or into Baker Lake or Rankin," Baranieski said of the fights, which travel a distance of about 1,600 kilometres each way.
The plane, a Beechcraft 1900C turbo prop, will depart from Saskatoon at 8:30 a.m. on Saturdays, overnight in Baker Lake until 10 a.m. and return to Saskatoon by 2:45 p.m. on Sundays after stops in Rankin Inlet and Points North. Baranieski expects most flights, which can carry 19 passengers and up to 2,000 pounds of cargo, to be near capacity or sold out.
One-way tickets for the flight cost $1,200, plus fees and taxes -- a reasonable charge considering other routes to Rankin Inlet and Baker Lake can take travellers through Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Yellowknife and many smaller communities, he said.
"When you can offer direct service from Saskatoon into Nunavut that's pretty exciting news, I would think, for the resource-based sector and suppliers of goods to that sector for Saskatoon."
ckyle@sp.canwest.com
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2008
Pronto adds plane for flights north
Murray Lyons,
The StarPhoenix
Published: Saturday, Thursday, October 18, 2007
Saskatoon-based Pronto Airways is adding another aircraft to meet the demand for flights to the North out of the city.
The addition of an eight-seat, King Air 100 will allow the airline, which started scheduled operations in February 2006, to boost its seat capacity to the North each weekday by 50 per cent, according to Dennis Baranieski, vice-president of business development for Pronto.
Since its inception, Pronto has relied on a Beechcraft 1900, a 16-seat twin turboprop connecting Saskatoon and Prince Albert to Stony Rapids, Points North, Wollaston Lake, La Ronge and most recently, Uranium City.
With the addition of the King Air, northern-bound passengers flying out of Saskatoon each morning will have the opportunity for a direct flight to La Ronge. It will take off shortly after the larger Beechcraft flies to Prince Albert. The two aircraft will meet up at the Points North landing strip -- the main distribution centre for people and cargo in Saskatchewan's Far North.
Once at Points North, passengers have the option to continue on in the Beechcraft to Stony Rapids or Uranium City or in the King Air to Wollaston Lake. The two aircraft meet again in Points North to transfer cargo and passengers for the return trip south to Saskatoon, either through La Ronge or Prince Albert.
This is the second expansion in Pronto's 20-month history. Baranieski says there has been a steady demand among business travellers since Pronto was launched and the airline's flights have a high seat occupancy.
"It's been almost overwhelming," he said.
The first expansion four months ago added flights into Uranium City Monday, Wednesday and Friday. While the once-thriving town has dwindled to a permanent population of about 70 people, there are a number of junior exploration companies making the town their base while doing uranium exploration on the west side of the Athabasca basin.
As well, Baranieski says environmental consulting companies are flying into the town frequently after a federal-provincial agreement to provide money to clean up old uranium mines.
"These companies have found it makes more economic sense to send people in on a scheduled flight than charter a whole aircraft," he said.
Pronto Airways is a limited partnership affiliated with West Wind Aviation Inc., but is not wholly owned by that company. Pronto contracts with West Wind for pilots and aircraft maintenance services.
mlyons@sp.canwest.com
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007
Pronto Airways spreads its wings to Uranium City
Cassandra Kyle,
The StarPhoenix
Published: Saturday, July 07, 2007
A second scheduled flight will be flying to and from Uranium City starting July 16 due to demand caused by natural resource development in the Athabasca Basin.
Pronto Airways will fly to the northern community from Saskatoon and Prince Albert on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Dennis Baranieski, vice-president of business development, said Pronto decided to offer service because of repeated requests for flights. The service to Uranium City is an extension of its route to Stony Rapids.
"We've had a number of people that have called asking if we would service Uranium City in the near future because of all the activity up there," said Baranieski.
A review of the service will be done in the fall. Baranieski believes the scheduled flights will last longer than a few months.
"From the homework we've done and the research we've looked at prior to this decision, (we feel) the activity in that area will be around for the foreseeable future," he said.
The community is only accessible by winter road, so flights are essential for travel and freight in the summer, said Uranium City Mayor Harold Grasley.
Aside from charter planes, only Transwest Air provides scheduled flights to the community.
Grasley said he's glad Pronto has decided to provide flights for the community.
"There's a lot of services needed in the area. There's a lot of (work) happening all over the Athabasca Basin," he said.
"There's a lot of opportunity for businesses to come up here."
Pronto Airways, which started service in February 2006, also serves Points North and Wollaston.
ckyle@sp.canwest.com
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007
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