In its current iteration, Whitehorse's airline industry is not sustainable.

That's what Allen Moore, Air North's director of commercial development, told members of the territory's tourism industry Thursday afternoon at the Tourism Industry Association of Yukon's annual fall roundup.

Filling in for Air North president Joe Sparling, who had originally been scheduled to speak, Moore outlined the company's key concerns with the local industry and its plan to remain relevant

moving forward.

From a consumer's point of view, the past two summers were a boon, Moore said.

From an airline perspective there was an unsustainable number of empty seats in the air, he told his audience at the Yukon Transportation Museum.

"All three airlines struggled to achieve even break-even volumes in the Whitehorse market,” Moore said, referring to Air North, Air Canada and the summer-only WestJet service.

"And the three airlines combined lost money on their direct Whitehorse service with flights over the course of the past two summers,” he said.

Across the industry, most airlines operate with an average 81.9 per cent of their seats filled.

But the airlines linking Whitehorse to the South have been operating at a 63.2 per cent load factor.

"Simple economics dictate that this situation must be corrected,” Moore said.

There just shouldn't be 2,000-plus seats available on a Sunday in a market this size, he added.

The Yukon airline business faced its stiffest challenge in 2012, when WestJet entered the already over-supplied market, Moore continued.

And Air North found itself in the middle of the "reckless” competition between Canada's two major airlines.

Rising fuel prices added to the cost burden of providing air transportation as the gap between seat prices and input costs grew, Moore said.

But it's not all hurdles and road blocks, he said; there are sustainable alternatives to the current industry set up.

One example Moore provided is based on a capacity discipline model in practice between Vancouver and Las Vegas.

Multiple airlines sell seats between the two cities, but only two airlines actually fly.

"We have to do the same thing up in the Yukon,” Moore said.

Air North has already announced partnerships at some level with Air Canada and Condor, and is in discussions with WestJet.

In order for the local company to even enter into these discussions, it had to undertake considerable upgrades to its IT system, Moore said.

The company now offers online check-in, and will soon offer options to buy the middle seat for more comfortable flying, and enjoy enhanced food and beverage services.

But the most impressive upgrades were all behind the scenes, making Air North's system compatible with those of the larger airlines.

Moore also hinted that the company could announce expanded routes as early as next year.

He also highlighted ongoing discussions within the company about upgrading its northern fleet for its Dawson City route, which could also mean more frequent flights to the community.