Summary Ravn Alaska has a rich history tracing back to 1948 under various name changes due to mergers and acquisitions. The airline faced bankruptcy in 2020 amidst the travel disruption due to Covid-19, leading to significant losses. Ravn Alaska was reinvigorated under new ownership and now operates primarily with Dash-8s, considering diversifying its fleet.
Ravn Alaska is a small airline based in Alaska and serves small communities in this non-contiguous state of the US in the northwest of North America. Ravn Alaska is the trading name of New Pacific Airlines, an enterprise that can be traced back to 1948. In this article, we will look at everything you need to know about this airline, whose name should be pronounced like you would pronounce the bird Raven.
Important events in Ravn’s 76-years-old history Ravn Alaska’s history can be traced to the formation of Economy Helicopters, a company founded by Carl Brady. A few years later, the company was rebranded as Era Helicopters. Rowan Companies purchased Era Helicopters in 1967.
Rowan Companies, now known as Valaris Limited (after the merger with Valaris), is a master in offshore oil drilling. The helicopters of Era have played their role in the construction of Alyeska Pipeline, an 800-mile diameter pipeline that transports oil from the northern parts of Alaska to the south-central region. Era Aviation was renamed as Era Aviation in 1988, underwent various name changes in subsequent years, and settled with the name Ravn Ala.