James McGregor McDougall

Born on December 20, 1955, in Santa Barbara, California, to Canadian parents Donald McDougall and Elizabeth McGregor, James McGregor “Greg” McDougall has one older brother, Ian. Greg spent his youth in California, spending summers with his family at Nelson Island on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast. As the island is accessible only by air or water, aircraft on floats were the easiest way for the family to reach their cottage. Thus Greg had early exposure to aviation and float planes.

He began flying in 1975, earning his Private Pilot Licence at the Pitt Meadows Airport in the lower BC mainland area, near Vancouver. This led to his first job as a pilot in 1977, flying a Cessna 185 on floats for Wolverine Air in Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories. In 1978, Greg was hired by Hyack Air Ltd., then based in New Westminster BC. From there, he flew float planes until 1980 when he was hired as a corporate pilot for a land development company.

In 1982, Greg and another pilot, Cliff Oakley, leased an office in the Vancouver harbour, as well as two de Havilland Beaver aircraft and founded Harbour Air Ltd. The company started as a charter-only operation providing services to the resource sector in the forest industry and commercial fishing. During the summer tourist season, service expanded by flying fishermen to remote fishing lodges in British Columbia.

In 1986, Harbour Air acquired nine single-engine floatplanes – one Otter and eight Beavers – from Air BC, and also acquired Air BC’s Sea Island terminal, a forerunner of Vancouver International Airport at Richmond, British Columbia. The deal included a non-compete clause preventing Harbour Air from flying the Vancouver-Victoria scheduled market, which was one of Air BC’s routes.

With the Expo 86 World’s Fair held in Vancouver in 1986, an upsurge in tourist traffic resulted in increased fishing charters. Harbour Air traffic grew and in 1989 alone it ferried 17,000 fishing enthusiasts to lodges on the BC coast. By then, the company was offering scheduled services from Vancouver to the Gulf Islands and points on Vancouver Island.

In 1986, partner Cliff Oakley was killed in a plane crash, and that year Greg McDougall entered into a 50% partnership with Kenn Borek of Kenn Borek Air Ltd., based in Calgary. The partnership provided access to Borek’s de Havilland Twin Otters, ideal for tourist charters and serving fishing camps.

In the 1990s, Harbour Air leased a base in Victoria’s inner harbour. In 1996 company started Vancouver to Victoria service and introduced sightseeing flights from the capital city. Buying assets of bankrupt Trans-Provincial Airlines Ltd., Greg’s company established bases at Sandspit and Masset in the Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii). By the mid-1990s, Harbour Air was the largest charter flight company in the province.

With the expiration of the non-compete agreement with Air BC, Harbour Air began scheduled service between Vancouver and Victoria, as well as to Nanaimo. When partner Kenn Borek and his daughter lost their lives in a car collision in 2002, Greg McDougall became sole owner of Harbour Air Ltd. In 2003 the company acquired Cooper Air, including two more Beavers, increasing its share of the aviation tourism market.

In 2010, Harbour Air purchased Westcoast Air, acquiring six Twin Otters and eight Beavers. In 2012, Whistler Air was acquired, adding another Beaver to the fleet. In 2013 Harbour Air started a new venture called Tantalus Air, offering charter flights on an eight-passenger Pilatus PC-12 single-engine turboprop aircraft. In September 2014, Harbour Air began scheduled service between Pitt Meadows and Victoria. The company now has bases in Victoria, Sechelt, Pitt Meadows and the Gulf Islands and maintains bases at Vancouver Harbour and Vancouver International Airport.

With over 12,000 hours logged as a pilot, as CEO of Harbour Air Ltd., Greg McDougall has built his company to the status of the world’s largest float plane operator. The purchase of Salt Spring Air in 2015 added more Beaver aircraft to the company and service to Salt Spring Island. Nearly 50 aircraft now fly in 180 scheduled flights daily. The company employs over 450 people, including 80 pilots and has 90% of the float plane market in British Columbia. Some 500,000 passengers per year are flown within the province and to Seattle.

In 2007, Harbour Air became the first airline in North America to become carbon neutral. All passenger fees include a carbon offset charge which is remitted to Offsetters, a Canadian provider of carbon-management solutions to reduce environmental impact. Projects in the Great Bear Rain Forest, Haida Gwaii and South America are supported by this initiative. From its beginning, Harbour Air has been a supporter of the British Columbia Aviation Council and contributes to its scholarship programs. As well, the airline is involved with the Waterkeeper Alliance that supports clean water initiatives.

In nine straight years, Harbour Air was recognized as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies, in a program sponsored by Deloitte Canada. In 2009, 2010 and 2011, Harbour Air was named as one of BC’s Top 55 Employers and has been honoured as a top employer for young people. In 2012 the company was recognized as one of Canada’s 10 most admired Corporate Cultures. In 2011, the Victoria Chamber of Commerce named Harbour Air as the recipient of its Business of the Year and named as Sustainable Business of the Year by Tourism Vancouver Island.

Under Greg McDougall’s leadership, the company has developed an enviable Safety Management System involving all employees. With safety as a first priority, since 1998 Harbour Air has had over 550,000 departures and arrivals of flights without incident. Innovations related to safety include installation of GPS flight trackers, CO2 monitors, tracking services and an iPad safety briefing for passengers.

In 2012 Harbour Air was awarded the Cumberbatch Trophy for outstanding contributions to flight safety, from the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators. In 2014 the company won the Visa Canada Traveller Experience of the Year award from the Tourism Association of Canada.

Greg has demonstrated his social conscience and strong support of the community at large, as well as that of the aviation community. He is the founding sponsor of the BC Bike Race and an annual sponsor of the Tour de Victoria and a Gran Fondo recreational cycling tour. His company provides over 3,000 free flight passes each year to disadvantaged individuals and has been involved with Hope Air, flying critically ill individuals to medical appointments. A “Share the Fare” initiative raises money for the BC Cancer Society and the Boys and Girls Club by allocating one dollar from each fare every Friday.

As an aviator and entrepreneur, Greg McDougall has inspired loyalty among his staff in meeting his exacting standards, as seen by company pilots who have been with Harbour Air for 30 years. Recognized internationally as an expert on seaplane management, Greg has been sought as a consultant and has now extended the company’s scope to operations in China. Harbour Air has now entered into a strategic partnership to export commuter float plane service to China. The Tianchen General Aviation Company has taken a 49% ownership in the Harbour Air Group in the first general aviation company to provide float plane service to cities in China in a new venture called Harbour Air China.

In 2018 in a collaboration with Seattle’s Kenmore Air, Greg began operating float plane service between Vancouver and Lake Union in downtown Seattle. The maiden flight took place in May 2018 with a Cessna Caravan. A contributing factor to Greg’s success in building an airline is his belief that, “A failure to plan is a plan to fail.” Greg Booth, chief pilot with Harbour Air, who has flown with the company for 14 years has stated, “Greg and Harbour Air have truly changed the face of aviation for people here on the west coast. Greg, however, was more than a bush pilot. He is the rare mix of aviator and entrepreneur.”

Greg McDougall, and his wife, Ingrid, whom he married in 1980, live near Squamish, British Columbia, north of Vancouver, and are parents of a married daughter, Stephanie.