There will be a new sound at the Buffalo Airways hangar later this year as the company adds its first jet cargo aircraft to the fleet. The company, most famous for maintaining a fleet of 75-year-old piston freighters and passenger aircraft, has purchased a Boeing 737-300 from a U.K. company. The DC-3s, C-46s and turboprop Electras are in no danger of replacement. Buffalo President Mikey McBryan told Cabin Radio the 737 will replace trucks that now take freight from Edmonton to Hay River where the propeller fleet sends it to the company’s far-flung network. Overnight freight from Edmonton has now reached volume levels to justify the bigger, faster aircraft, which will initially fly from Edmonton to Yellowknife daily.
Modern realities forced the change. “Right now, a service like Amazon Prime couldn’t really exist in Yellowknife next-day. A service like Amazon Prime needs lots of room and guaranteed space, and other major companies are going that way,” McBryan said. “It takes three to four days, sometimes, to get a truck out of Edmonton to Yellowknife, especially if you don’t have a full truck. Our new system is going to be able to do the equivalent of two 53-foot trailers per night, including backhaul.”