In early 1975, Jim Rowe and three college friends embarked on a journey from northern Michigan, and traveled across America in a Cessna 195, landing in Mexico's Baja California peninsula, and eventually settling on the beaches of Nome, Alaska. A few years later, in September 1979, Bering Air was established. It commenced operations on October 3, 1979, with a single De Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter. Later, in 1983, with instigation of the increasingly popular bypass mail system, the airline added other small aircraft, including the Piper Navajo, Beech 18, and Piper Seneca. Bering Air, in favor of modern, turbine powered aircraft, later phased out aircraft equipped with radial engines. Thus, the Beechcraft King Air 200, Beechcraft 1900D, Cessna Caravan, and CASA C-212 were introduced. Furthermore, off airport duties were transferred to helicopters, instead of older piston powered aircraft. In 2015, the airline upgraded its fleet with eight Cessna 208EX Grand Caravan aircraft replacing its older Cessna 208B aircraft.[5] Today, the airline is wholly owned by Jim Rowe (President) and Christine Rowe.
In July 2020 Bering Air bought at Ravn Alaska's bankruptcy auction the facilities in Aniak, Kotzebue, Nome and Unalakleet.[6]
Fleet
As of November 2023, the Bering Air fleet consists of the following aircraft:[2]
Bering Air Beech 1900D at Nome, AlaskaA Bering Air Cessna 208B Grand Caravan in Nome, Alaska
Bering Air provides free delivery on scheduled flights for Airport Pizza, a pizzeria at Nome Airport that takes orders from remote locations served by Bering Air.[10]
Destinations
Passenger and cargo charter services are flown from Kotzebue and Nome to destinations throughout the United States, and Russia.[4]
Domestic
Bering Air offers scheduled passenger service to 29 cities in Western Alaska from hubs in Nome, Kotzebue and Unalakleet.[3][11][12][13]
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