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Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1181452
42 BCBUSINESS NOVEMBER 2019 TOURISM VANCOUVER/HARBOUR AIR integrate this type of technology into our lesson plans and our overall goals for our students," he says. "We are regulated by Transport Canada to teach certain topics, so we have to make sure those are taught first, then we try to fit in new and emerging technologies." CERTIFIABLY TOUGH Ganzarski and McDougall hope that Harbour Air can get fully certified by 2021. But that won't be a walk in the park. Hold- ing notes that "it's a major technical chal- lenge, and comes down to offsetting the weight of the battery systems and the regu- latory regime you're flying under." The lat- ter part of that assessment could be tough, he warns: "It's a long process with a lot of paperwork involved. Transport Canada is a very conservative organization." As things stand, Transport Canada doesn't have a path to certify electric air- craft for commercial use. "Any new tech- nology like this, it's cutting-edge, complex. And our first concern is safety, so that's why we like to get involved early," says Terry Beech, who at press time served as Burnaby North–Seymour MP and parlia- mentary secretary to the federal minister of transport. So even though Harbour Air hasn't yet filed an application for certification, the federal government has been entrenched in the process. In fact, Transport Canada recently had a familiarization meeting to better understand the technology involved with MagniX's electric propulsion unit. "It depends on how thorough the applicant is and how many issues there are, because safety is our top issue and no corners get cut in these situations," says Beech when asked how long it might take for Harbour Air to win federal approval. "The only exam- ple off the top of my head is [Bombardier's] C Series aircraft. From prototype to certification it took about eight years, so it can be quite lengthy." That's obviously a sober- ing example for McDougall, who was inducted into Can- ada's Aviation Hall of Fame this year. But if he's nervous, he doesn't show it. Although Transport Canada doesn't have the electrification certification process mapped out yet, the Federal Aviation Administration (the U.S. body that oversees aviation regulation) is "a bit further ahead," he explains. Harbour Air is working with both orga- nizations and will take the "path of least resistance," says McDougall, adding that "there's a bilateral [agreement between the U.S. and Canada], so anything that gets certified in one country is easily certifiable in another." Two years might still seem like a stretch from where Harbour Air is today, but again, if McDougall is concerned, he isn't letting on. "The mantra for me here is the disruptor-being-disrupted thing," he says, noting that Harbour Air got where it is by embracing change and smart, aggressive expansion—two strategies that aren't going anywhere any time soon. "If we all just sit here looking out the window, one day there's going to be some- thing flying out there that's going to rock your world. And I want to be the one flying it, not the one watching it." He's already done that, when he was six years old, staring up into the sky on the edge of the Sunshine Coast. ■ "There's no fossil fuel burn, which is a significant part of the cost, and the energy replacement and the battery system per flight is infinitesimal compared to jet fuel... You're looking at 10,000 hours of service out of an electric motor before you even have to look at it" –Greg McDougall, CEO, Harbour Air Flight Patterns SOURCES: HARBOUR AIR, STATISTICS CANADA Types of aircraft employed by Harbour Air: Beaver, Otter and Twin Otter 81.6 million Passengers travelling by Canadian aircraft in 2016 $23 billion Total operating revenue for the industry that year $1.4 billion Net operating income for the industry that year 3 ROUTES FLOWN BY HARBOUR AIR 18 Percentage below 2005 levels that Air Canada has agreed to reduce its CO2 emissions by 2050 50