Wednesday, March 30, 2011

INTEGRA AIR HOSTING 45TH ANNIVERSARY TIME AIR REUNION BBQ

Calling all former Time Air employees! Integra Air is pleased to announce we are hosting a reunion BBQ at the Alberta International Airshow this July in Lethbridge. The BBQ will take place at our new head office facility being constructed at the Lethbridge Airport. We are incorporating an original WWII era hangar that saw service as Time Air's hangar along with a modern all metal building that was constructed for building manifactured homes for Triple M homes. This will give us the perfect venue for the reunion which will also be attended by the airshow performers including the Canadian Forces Snowbird pilots and crews.


Cost for the BBQ will be $40/ person and includes a steak dinner and entertainment. There will also be a silent auction for you to place bids on. Cocktails at 5:30PM, dinner at 6:00PM and entertainment at 8PM.

Just learned recently that this year also marks the 100th anniversary of powered flight in Lethbridge and July will mark the 75th anniversary of Air Traffic Services at the Lethbridge Airport. So many great aviation milestones to celebrate in Lethbridge this summer.

There will be more details to follow in the next few weeks. If you are interested in attending the BBQ or if you have any questions, please contact Ken Meintzer at kmeintzer@integraair.com . Please spread the word to any interested Time Air folks.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

OUR NEW HEAD OFFICE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION

As promised, here is a sneak preview of Integra Air's new head office facility currently under construction at the Lethbridge Airport. We are truly proud of our future new home as it is developing from two existing structures into one complete building featuring hangar space, offices and meeting rooms plus a departures/ arrival area with a stunning view of the airport.
This is the view of the new head office building looking from the Northwest. The original WWII/ Time Air hangar is on the left of the photo. The former Triple M Homes plant is on the right hand side of this photo. The next phase of the development will be built in the middle of the frame between the windows and the concrete firewall visible on the North wall of the old Triple M Homes plant.
This is the Builder's rendering of what the new addition will look like. The two story attachment will feature plenty of glass for a commanding view of the apron to the west where Integra Air flights will depart and arrive.
Here is a closer look at the new departures and arrivals lounge. This building will also house offices for Integra Air's head office along with meeting space, flight planning and pilot rest areas. 
Here is a view of the floor plan of the first floor. You can see the hallway at the top right that will bring our guests from the parking area to the departures and arrivals lounge while passing between the original WWII/Time Air hangar. We are planning to honour the history of our original hangar with a gallery of photos and items that will help portray the days when Lethbridge was home to training air crews for the Second World War and as the home for Time Air.
Though it doesn't look too impressive right now, this concrete wall will serve as part of the hallway that Integra Air's guests will walk down from the parking area to the departures lounge. The wall is the north wall of the south hangar in our new facility. To the left in this photo is the original WWII hangar from when the Lethbridge Airport was home to an Elementary flight training school and later to a Bombing and Gunnery school. The hangar later served as part of the home of Lethbridge based Time Air. We are very proud to be incorporating such an important and historical structure in our new head office structure.
This is what our 70 year old hangar looks like today. These buildings were initially built for a 10 year lifespan yet they still provide service all these years later.
When Time Air used this hangar for their DeHavilland Dash 7 and Dash 8 aircraft in the 1980's, they had to cut a hole in the hangar doors allowing the tail (which was too tall to fit into the hangar) to remain outside while still being able to close the doors!
Here is the inside view of the second hangar building. Triple M Homes used this building to construct manufactured homes here. We will be the first to use this structure as a hangar for aircraft!
We will have plenty of space for aircraft parking and maintenance between our two sizable hangars.
This impressive view will greet our departing and arriving guests when they fly with Integra Air! The open space will allow for a panoramic view of the airport and the beautiful mountains to the West of Lethbridge.
 I am sure you can sense our excitement and anticipation awaiting the final construction of our new facility at the Lethbridge Airport. We hope to be fully operational in the completed building by the end of 2011.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

WELCOME TO INTEGRA AIR'S "SKY TRAILS"

Hello fellow travellers!

Here begins Integra Air's very own blog, "Sky Trails" where we hope to keep you up to speed with the latest developments with Southern Alberta's Airline. There have been many exciting changes with our company recently and we have plans for even more growth in the near future. Stay tuned right here for a little closer look at what we are working on.

For starters, Integra Air purchased Bar XH Air based in Medicine Hat and Calgary in the fall of 2010. The newly combined company features a nice blending of aviation roles such as continuing scheduled weekday air service between Lethbridge and Edmonton, air medevac service for Alberta Health using two Medicine Hat based and one Calgary based King Air 200 aircraft plus charter services on British Aerospace Jetstream 31/32's, King Air 200, Piper Cheyenne and Navajo aircraft. Soon, the Bar XH name will fade into the background as the company marches forward under the Integra Air banner.

Along with the acquisition of Bar XH Air, Integra Air is excited to announce the construction of a new head office facility at the Lethbridge Airport. Work is already underway on the building which will feature hangar space, departure/arrival lounge areas along with much greater office space for our Lethbridge based staff. The new structure will incorporate a World War two era former RCAF hangar along with a new hangar building. The older hangar also saw use for Lethbridge based Time Air and for a manufactured home builder prior to being developed into our new facility. Integra Air will be paying homage to Lethbridge's rich and lengthy aviation history with a display honouring the Lethbridge Airport's role in training pilots for World War Two as home to both Elementary Flying Training School #5 and later to #8 Bombing and Gunnery School. The display will also illuminate the proud history of Time Air which was founded at the Lethbridge Airport in 1966 and grew to become one of the largest regional airlines in the world.  The new passenger arrival/ departure area will be very pleasantly appointed, giving visitors to Lethbridge an impressive first impression of the region.

So welcome once again to Integra Air's brand new blog, "Sky Trails". We will have lots of features on our newly expanded company in the coming months. Please write to us with any questions or comments about our company at kmeintzer@integraair.com . We would be most pleased to hear from you!