Canadian regional carrier Pascan Aviation will soon become the first Saab 340B freighter operator in the country after recently entering the dedicated cargo segment.

Pascan began a fleet changeover to passenger Saab 340Bs during the pandemic and has carried cargo on its passenger flights since operations began in 1999. Only recently did it give serious consideration to the freighter market and ended up with a deal to fly a Saab 340B freighter for a customer, President and Chief Executive Julian Roberts told Cargo Facts.

Pascan leased the 1990-vintage unit 340B-219 from Jetstream Aviation Capital and has temporarily assigned Akron, Ohio-based Castle Aviation to fly the freighter on its behalf. The operation began in July.

“We’re waiting until the STC is approved here by our authorities at Transport Canada,” Roberts says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.”

“We expect that will be done within the coming month or two when we will import the aircraft onto our certificate and start operating it as a Canadian aircraft,” he says.

Pascan says there is underserved demand in more remote regions in Canada and expects to take on a second Saab 340BF from Jetstream by early 2025.

“There’s been a lot of people knocking at the door asking about different products and how we can move it back and forth, and a lot of that is revolving around seafood right now,” Roberts says. “They feel that the aircraft — its ability, range and the amount of weight that we can fly — that seems to be a good fit for a lot of people.”

Tune in to this week’s “Cargo Facts Connect” to hear more on Pascan as Roberts speaks to Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee.