Air North plans to offer limited edition, non-stop service between Vancouver and Yellowknife in early 2020.

The limited edition route will be offered between Jan. 17 and March 2.

Operating on Fridays and Mondays, the route is optimized for weekend travel and is designed to provide consistent connections between Yellowknife and Whitehorse.

“We’re proud to take this step forward in providing greater air access to northern Canada,” states Ben Ryan, Air North’s chief commercial officer, said Wednesday.

“This new route will give residents of the Northwest Territories an affordable and reliable Boeing 737-500 air service to Vancouver, and it will also make it easier for friends, family, and business colleagues to visit the North.”

While N.W.T. residents will benefit from the service, Ryan said, a strong emphasis is placed on supporting the tourism sector.

“With the addition of this route, we are adding a reliable and spacious Boeing 737-500 service to the already thriving Yellowknife tourism market,” he said.

“Furthermore, we intend to provide great northern hospitality and a unique experience that is themed around Indigenous tourism and aurora experience, so passengers can begin to immerse themselves into the journey the second they board the aircraft.”

Air North services the Yellowknife market with its Whitehorse-Yellowknife-Ottawa service, operating over Christmas, the spring school break, and the summer of 2020.

Air North also has longstanding service within B.C. and the N.W.T., including 15 flights a week between Whitehorse and Vancouver, daily service to Inuvik, N.W.T., and regular service to Kelowna, Victoria, Prince George and Nanaimo.

The privately held company’s largest two shareholders are its founder, Joe Sparling, and the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation.

Air North also has more than 2,000 local individual shareholders based in the Yukon.