Travellers will be able to get from Cranbrook to Kelowna in less than an hour starting next month.
On Friday, October 4, Pacific Coastal Airlines announced that it will launch a direct Cranbrook to Kelowna service starting on Monday, November 18.
The service will operate Sunday to Friday. It will depart Cranbrook at 3:10 p.m. MT and arrive in Kelowna at 3:25 p.m. PT. For the reverse trip, the aircraft leaves Kelowna at 3:25 p.m. PT, arriving in Cranbrook at 5:15 p.m. MT.
Before this route was announced, air travellers needed to fly from Cranbrook to Vancouver and then transfer to a flight to Kelowna, making for a much longer trip.
“This marks a significant advancement in air access, allowing strategic economic ties between the Thompson Okanagan and Kootenay Columbia Valleys to grow to new heights,” said Tristen Chernove, managing director of Canadian Rockies International Airport. “For the length of my time in the Kootenay Rockies region, Kelowna has remained one of the most requested flight destinations.”
Chernove said he was “ecstatic to see this new route get off the ground.”
The new route came about through a partnership between Pacific Coastal Airlines, Canadian Rockies International Airport, and Kelowna International Airport.
“We are very excited about adding Kelowna to our list of more than 65 destinations in British Columbia,” said Pacific Coastal Airlines’ Vice President of Commercial Services Spencer Smith. “The addition of this new route is an important part of our strategic development plan and evidence of our ongoing commitment to serving the transportation needs of British Columbia.”
Pacific Coastal’s new Cranbrook-Kelowna route has been announced two days after the airline began a same-plane flight from Cranbrook to Victoria.
Cranbrook Mayor Wayne Stetski praised Pacific Coastal as outstanding corporate citizens.
“I very much appreciate Pacific Coastal’s loyalty to Cranbrook,” Stetski said. “The new flights to Kelowna will make it much better for people who have medical appointments — particularly in the winter — and also for those who want to visit the Okanagan.
“Pacific Coastal are really great corporate citizens for us, and when you factor in the new Victoria flight they’ve added, they’ve really done our city well.”