Canadian aviation pioneerMax Ward, has died just 20 days short of his 99th birthday. Born in Edmonton on November 22, 1921, he served as flight instructor with the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War, before becoming a bush pilot. In 1953, he founded Wardair in Yellowknife. By 1989, the airline would become the third-largest airline in Canada.

Ward launched his commercial service with a single 14-passenger single-engine Otter that operated on wheels, skis and floats, according to a biography from his 1989 induction to the Alberta Order of Excellence, which also notes that, “When DeHavilland built the Twin Otter and then the 4-engine Dash 7, Wardair was the first to operate them in Canada.”

He built his business into a regional carrier then into Wardair, Canada’s largest charter airline.

Ward bought his first Boeing 727 in 1967, going on to add several more along with Boeing 747s..

Wardair offered international holidays at affordable prices with flights between Canada and Hawaii, the Caribbean, the U.K. and Spain. The airline was noted for its outstanding service which also featured champagne and meals served on china.

Employees at Wardair, myself included, found working for the company an exceptional experience, with customer service front of mind at all times.

Ward sold the airline to Canadian Airlines in 1989.

“Mr. Ward’s pioneering of air transportation in the Northwest Territories has been of immeasurable value to Alberta and has maintained for this province its standing as the supply base for the western Arctic and the Yukon Territory,” the Alberta Order of Excellence citation reads. “On the national scene, Mr. Ward was in the forefront of those urging deregulation of the airline industry.”

Family friend Jacquie Perrin says Ward collapsed yesterday at his home in Edmonton and died shortly after in hospital, surrounded by his family.

He was first and foremost a Yellowknife bush pilot who northerners still credit for helping to open up the Northwest Territories.

Max Ward was inducted into Canada’s Aviation Corridor of Fame in 1974, and made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1975.