L. Russell Payson

Born in Ottawa in 1944, Russell earned a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from Queen’s University (1967) and a Masters of Business Administration from the Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario (1970). He was active in sports throughout his high school and university years playing varsity football at high school as well as at each of the universities. He competed in Junior A ski racing and coached the womans ski team at Queens. In later years he has remained active in sports and excelled in car racing.

Following graduation Russell obtained his pilot license and worked on several aviation projects which culminated in the founding of Skyservice FBO Inc. in 1986 with two other partners. The business was founded on modest beginnings with 12 employees supplying hangarage and fuel services at Montreal International Airport. During this time his focus was to build a first-class organization based on strong relationships with his customers, employees, and business partners. These relationships developed into new opportunities within the industry.

During the late 1980’s a new opportunity emerged to repatriate Canadian visitors to the US requiring medical transport back to Canada during the winter months. This service began with a single Cessna Citation aircraft. Realizing that the existing air ambulances were little more than aircraft with stretchers installed, Russell purchased a local private ambulance provider and entered into a longterm agreement with the Montreal General Hospital to provide intensive medical care services to the Baffin Region. Several Learjet 35’s were acquired which led to a period of extensive study and development to implement miniaturized military high tech medical equipment developed for the Iraq war into modified aircraft which became some of the most advanced air ambulances of the period.

The company’s initial focus was transporting patients from remote communities such as Iqaluit to medical facilities further south. As need for its services grew, Skyservice soon partnered with McGill University to develop of one of Canada’s first aviation medicine fellowship programs. It in turn created licensed, highly trained in-flight staff, drawn from physicians, emergency medical technicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, who trained in aviation physiology. In time, they would operate aboard one of the company’s five Learjet 35As or three Learjet 45XR jet air ambulances. Eventually the company flew to every continent in the world except Antarctica and was the first North American air ambulance provider to receive European Aero-Medical Institute accreditation for special care, particularly in the area of pediatrics. The company worked closely with travel insurers, and in 2009 the Travel Insurance Journal awarded Skyservice the Air Ambulance Provider of the year, reflecting the company’s achievements.

Russell’s ability to see business opportunities and develop new business models enabled him to successfully challenge the existing status quo. A major move came in 1993, when he successfully negotiated an agreement to purchase the former Worldways Hangar at Toronto International Airport. Shortly thereafter Imperial Oil expressed an interest in entering into an agreement, which eventually resulted in a joint venture between the two companies to operate Esso Avitats in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary.

Shortly after the facility opened, it was an astounding success out of the gate. Opportunities abounded and the company chose to expand in several new directions. The success of the FBO brought new customers to the company. One such example was Sunquest Vacations who approached Skyservice to supply two Airbus A-320 aircraft for its lift requirements.

Following an agreement between the two companies, Skyservice Airlines was incorporated to operate the Sunquest programs. Skyservice used and maintained the two aircraft like business aircraft and managed in its first year to achieve a top rating for dispatch reliability. This program evolved into a much larger scale using 12 aircraft which capitalized on the seasonality of leisure travel business in Europe and North America serving destinations in the Mediterranean and Caribbean. By 1997, the company became the first North American airline to fly the wide body Airbus 330 to operate a Sunquest Italy program serving five destinations. Skyservice developed co-operative relationships with European carriers which provided for sharing crews and aircraft which greatly improved the economics of charter carriers. The airline expanded significantly between 2000 and 2007 adding four tour operators with multi-year commercial agreements in addition to routes of its own. The company was soon the leading independent leisure charter service in Canada, with a fleet of 23 aircraft that flew to 57 destinations in 24 countries while it employed approximately 2000 employees. In 2007 Skyservice airlines was sold to Gibralt Capital Group of Vancouver.

In 2011, Russell founded Sky Regional Airlines, operating under the Air Canada Express banner. It began operations with five Bombardier Q400s supplying hourly service between Toronto Island and Montreal. Its mandate was to supply high quality services and help build the Air Canada brand. In 2013, it added 15 Embraer 175 aircraft previously operated by Air Canada, followed by ten more that joined the fleet between 2016 and 2017. For a decade the airline employed nearly 600 staff and, at its height, it was flying approximately 125 flights per day. Sky Regional established an excellent relationship with Air Canada, however COVID-19 forced a new financial reality upon both parties which ultimately forced them to shutter operations in 2022.

Until their respective sales, Russell was either CEO and/or President of, Skyservice FBO Inc., Skyservice Business Aviation Inc., and Skyservice Airlines Inc. Widely respected by his peers and committed to supporting his community, he received the ATAC Lifetime Honoree Award in 2005 and was awarded the CBAA Honorary Lifetime membership in 2009. A pilot himself, he holds an airline transport pilot license with qualifications on the Citation Series, Learjet 35 and 45, Bombardier Q-400, and the Boeing 757.