In June 2003, St. Clair McColl started Salt Spring Air, with local seaplane services based on the Gulf Islands with a four-seat Cessna 185. The airline's services were targeted to the islands' residents, and personalized services were offered. Since then, with the introduction of de Havilland Beavers in 2004, the company's fleet has grown to four planes operating six scheduled flights from Salt Spring Island to Vancouver, and other scheduled flights fly to various other locations on the Gulf Islands. It remains the only airline based on Salt Spring Island.[7]
During what began as a routine flight on March 19, 2007, McColl rescued a father and son from the frigid waters of the Strait of Georgia after a passenger noticed their capsized boat and notified McColl. The pilot and his two passengers were later honoured by the Lifesaving Society of British Columbia for the rescue.[8][9]
In November 2015, Salt Spring Air was purchased by the Harbour Air Seaplanes Group which operates in Harbour Air Seaplanes livery with Salt Spring Air name. Salt Spring Air's fleet now joins Harbour Air Seaplanes, Westcoast Air, and Whistler Air as the largest all seaplane airline in the world.
^Times colonist, 20 march 2007Archived 4 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine A father and son from Vancouver whose boat capsized in the Strait of Georgia yesterday may owe their lives to a veteran seaplane pilot from Saltspring Air.
Salt Spring Air’s dock shelter is a wheelhouse The little shelter on the dock is a replica of the wheelhouse of the MV “Cy Peck” - built in 1922 and served as a ferry to the Gulf Islands from 1930 to 1966.
Santa's airline Salt Spring Air take Santa around the Gulf Islands.