'It's seldom you have such a beautiful breakfast under the tail of a Boeing 737.'

Patti Balsillie's comments caused appreciative laughter throughout the dozens of people gathered at the Air North hanger this morning in Whitehorse.

It was a gathering to kickoff a three-day sponsorship summit, for about 25 of the 2007 Canada Winter Games major sponsors and official suppliers, many of which came from out of town as far away as Summerside, P.E.I.

And it was a kickoff that only Air North could put together, with flight staff serving the guests coffee and hot cider and the tables decked out with scones, muffins, fresh yogurt and fruit, and cranberry iced water.

Fitting, since it was also Air North's official Diamond sponsorship announcement for the 2007 Games, even though it's been fairly evident from the beginning that 'Yukon's Airline' would step up to the plate.

'Air North is a quality airline, world class as we say in tourism,' stated Balsillie, the assistant vie-president of sponsorship for the 2007 Games . 'We are proud to have Air North in our community.

'If there's a community event happening, Air North can be counted on to support it.'

The airline's in-kind sponsorship will be made up of 260 flight passes and will exceed the $100,000 mark. Flight passes will be used to assist a variety of visitors with travel to and from Whitehorse, before and during the Games.

Piers McDonald, the president of the 2007 Canada Winter Games Host Society, was also pleased to welcome the local airline to the team.

'Air North has been an incredible supporter of events across the Yukon. We are very appreciative of all that they have given to the Games and how they are helping us bring as many Canadians as possible to this exciting event,' he added.

Air North President Joe Sparling gave a presentation to those gathered in the hanger, outlining the history of his airline and the success it's achieved to date.

Sparling also announced the airline's special schedule for the Games, which will include double the current daily flights to Vancouver and daily flights to Edmonton and Calgary, rather than the regular three times per week.

'Air North, Yukon's Airline, is very pleased to be the official airline for the 2007 Canada Winter Games,' said Sparling. 'This event promises to provide significant exposure and benefit to the Yukon not only during its duration, but for many years to come.

'Our team is really excited about participating and being a partner in bringing the athletes, officials, families, volunteers and all who will be associated with the Games to the Yukon.'

Chris Morrissey, the general manager of the 2007 Games, said the latest sponsorship is huge, considering the host society expects 3,000 people per week to be flying in and out of Whitehorse during the Games on top of the athletes, coaches and managers.

'This is very significant for us,' he stated.

One of those in town for the sponsorship summit is Ian Hargrave, who is the vice-president of project development for the Alberta-based company ATCO.

Hargrave has been to Whitehorse a few times, mainly because of ATCO's involvement with the athlete's village currently being constructed at Yukon College.

'We were here two months ago, when they set the last module,' he said. 'They're really spectacular and I think Yukon will benefit for many years by having a legacy from the Games.'

Hargrave said sponsorship summits such as the one this week are very important.

'The more familiar we are, the better we can plan and host our guests when they come up to the Games.'

The summits also provide an chance for the sponsors to interact with each other, as some may end up co-hosting Games events. Morrissey said its also just an opportunity for the sponsors to get as much information about the Games as possible.

While here this week, guests will tour all the venues and facilities for the 2007 Games, hear presentations from the host society, see a 'Games gear' fashion show and travel to Haines Junction for a flight tour over Kluane.

Some of those taking part in the events include Northwestel, TransCanada, Xerox, Subaru, Columbia and Holland America representatives.

The sponsorship efforts of the 2007 Games to date have raised over $6 million. Locally, staff have raised $1.4 million, or almost 70 per cent of the targeted amount of $2 million.