Charter airline Enerjet looks to offer public flights
CBC News | Posted: November 16, 2012 1:03 PM | Last Updated: November 16, 2012
Calgary company says it is looking for investors to expand operations
Calgary may soon see another airline enter the market — local charter company Enerjet is looking for investors for a possible expansion.
Enerjet currently has a fleet of three Boeing 737s. Most of their business is contracted by big oil companies to fly workers up to northern Alberta.
Over Thanksgiving, they offered public flights to Vancouver from Calgary on JumpOnEnerjet, an eBay airfare store. The company also plans to sell seats over Christmas from Calgary to Kelowna, B.C., and Edmonton — but there are signs it won't stop there.
Toronto-based airline analyst Robert Kokonis, with AirTrav Inc., says a major New York consulting firm contacted him recently, pitching for investments on behalf of Enerjet — specifically for an expansion into low-cost schedules routes.
"[There was] an investment search by Enerjet to expand. The number forwarded to us was $80 million," said Kokonis.
Enerjet vice-president Darcy Morgan confirmed they are looking for investors.
"Enerjet has a partner to help us raise capital and we expect to use that capital to expand," said Morgan.
However, Morgan said there have been no final decisions made on exactly what the funds would be for.
"If we were to raise a significant amount of capital then, yes, our investors and our board of directors would ask us to look carefully also at scheduled airline opportunity," said Morgan.
Kokonis said he was told Enerjet is looking to have the financing in place by the end of this year, with the aim to see a low-cost airline taking off by late 2013.