Their Story.

North Star Air (NSA) took flight in 1997 when 3 young adventurous entrepreneurs, Bernie Cox, Lynn Cox, and John Stout, acquired two single engine De Havilland Beavers on floats. In cooperation with their sister company Canoe Frontier,  NSA began flying canoeists and fishermen into Ontario's last frontier north of Pickle Lake. The addition of a DHC-3 Turbo-Otter and a Cessna Caravan, both on amphib floats, soon followed as the demand for airlift began to grow. By 2001, having relocated operations to the Pickle Lake Airport from its water base, North Star had expanded to year-round activity. In 2005, Mr. Stout purchased a Pilatus PC-12 from Frank Kelner's Pilatus Center at the Thunder Bay Airport. This acquisition enabled another startup named Canada Direct, which, in cooperation with NSA, focused on charters for fishermen who wished to fly directly from the U.S. into their Canadian lodge of choice. More importantly, it was the start of a professional relationship between Mr.  Kelner and Mr. Stout that, 7 years later, would change the course of NSA forever. By 2006, a Cessna Grand Caravan was added to the fleet to keep pace with rising cargo demand, setting the stage for a hybrid passenger-freight operation that would underpin the airline's next era.