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Purolator replacing 70-year-old freighters in Canada with ATR72-500

KF Aerospace to manage cargo conversions, operate aircraft

KF crews load a Convair with parcels delivered by Purolator. (Photo: KF Aerospace)

Purolator Inc., Canada’s largest integrated parcel carrier, will upgrade its British Columbia feeder network by replacing three aging Convair freighter aircraft with three ATR72-500 turboprop freighters to be operated by longtime partner KF Aerospace under a new 10-year contract.

KF Aerospace, which provides heavy maintenance, airframe modifications, passenger charter operations and other aviation services, has exclusively operated Purolator’s air network in British Columbia since 2015 through its Kelowna Flightcraft division. It will replace its three Convair aircraft with three ATR72-500 aircraft – two configured for accepting containers and one bulk loader.

KF Aerospace said the fleet modernization will deliver improved fuel efficiency and more flexibility in handling diverse cargo needs. It also has the potential to help Purolator expand into other markets. KF Aerospace will oversee acquiring and converting the ATR72-500s, with one conversion already near completion at KF’s main Kelowna maintenance facility.

“The addition of the ATR72-500F aircraft will enhance range, capacity and efficiency, ensuring that Purolator’s mission of on-time reliability is extended well into the future,” said KF Aerospace CEO Tracy Medve in a news release. 


Purolator’s network in British Columbia connects Victoria and Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, as well as Kelowna, Kamloops and Prince George with Purolator’s hub at Vancouver International Airport. Purolator, which is mostly owned by Canada Post, partners with Cargojet, Air Canada, and other commercial airlines and regional carriers to move packages by air across the country.

The three Convair 580s operated by KF Aerospace for Purolator were manufactured in the early 1950s, making them at least 70 years old.

Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.

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Eric Kulisch

Eric is the Supply Chain and Air Cargo Editor at FreightWaves. An award-winning business journalist with extensive experience covering the logistics sector, Eric spent nearly two years as the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Automotive News, where he focused on regulatory and policy issues surrounding autonomous vehicles, mobility, fuel economy and safety. He has won two regional Gold Medals and a Silver Medal from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for government and trade coverage, and news analysis. He was voted best for feature writing and commentary in the Trade/Newsletter category by the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He was runner up for News Journalist and Supply Chain Journalist of the Year in the Seahorse Freight Association's 2024 journalism award competition. In December 2022, Eric was voted runner up for Air Cargo Journalist. He won the group's Environmental Journalist of the Year award in 2014 and was the 2013 Supply Chain Journalist of the Year. As associate editor at American Shipper Magazine for more than a decade, he wrote about trade, freight transportation and supply chains. He has appeared on Marketplace, ABC News and National Public Radio to talk about logistics issues in the news. Eric is based in Vancouver, Washington. He can be reached for comments and tips at ekulisch@freightwaves.com