Ryan Air—the Alaskan bush freight carrier founded by Wilfred and Eva Ryan in 1953—joined the Saltchuk Family of Companies in December. It’s legacy spans generations.
Lee Ryan’s tenure at Ryan Air—the 70-year-old Alaskan bush freight carrier founded by his grandparents Wilfred and Eva Ryan in 1953—has been nothing short of idyllic.
“I’ve worked with some great people over the years, bringing adventures most can only dream of—inspecting aircraft in the middle of the Pacific. Traveling to Russia, Greenland, Iceland, and Canada for indigenous conferences and aviation work. Flying into a community when it was 52 (degrees) below (zero) because it ran out of food. Landing on ice runways on the North Slope. Flying thousands of hours as a crew member with my dad. He has all the good stories—I just get all the fun.”
Ryan Air joined the Saltchuk Family of Companies in December, expanding Saltchuk Aviation’s reach to more than 70 villages across Alaska’s frozen north that rely on small bush planes to deliver the supplies they need to brave the harshest of conditions. Lee Ryan, named company president in 2019, grew up in the family business.
“I grew up around airplanes, following my dad to work so I could clean his planes, refuel, load bags, and get to fly with him when he had room,” Ryan said.
Born in Nome, Alaska, Ryan lived in both Unalakleet and Anchorage before the family settled in Unalakleet for good when he was eight.
“My childhood was like every other kid in rural Alaska. We were outside all day playing, exploring, getting dirty as long as possible when the sun doesn’t set in the summer,” he said. “When I was in middle school, our art class teacher asked us to draw a picture of what we wanted to be in 15 years. I drew a picture of an office with a big window overlooking an airport. A Cessna 180 was taking off in the background with a flock of geese flying by and an empty desk with a small nameplate that said ‘President Ryan.’ I wanted to be a pilot, the president of an airline with the ability to take off to subsistence hunt and fish as my grampa did and his grampa before him.”
A legacy of service
Ryan Air was originally named Unalakleet Air Taxi by Wilfred Ryan Sr. and founded as a charter airline.
“My Grampa Wilfred was a Captain in the territorial guard during World War II, and when the war ended, Eva supported him while he worked to achieve his dream of being a pilot. Together, they started what today is Ryan Air.”
In the 1960s, the company began handling USPS mail delivery and transportation of schoolteachers for the Bureau of Indian Affairs between communities along the lower Yukon River. In 1977, Wilfred P. Ryan, Jr., or “Boyuck” Ryan, took over the company after his father died of cancer. In 1979, the company expanded service beyond Norton Sound and changed its name to Ryan Air. The company became the largest commuter carrier in Alaska, serving 85 cities and villages with a fleet of 28 planes. In the 1990s, Ryan Air converted to a cargo-only airline and changed its name to Arctic Transportation Services, changing it back in 2010 and adding passenger charters out of Anchorage the following year.
“Ryan Air is very much a family-oriented airline with roots based on the value of serving people in rural Alaska,” Ryan explained. “We are fortunate to serve 72 communities out of our eight hub locations. Each community and region we serve is unique. Some are small, with fewer than 20 people, and have more than 1,500. Of the 72 communities we fly to, only three have paved runways—the rest are gravel with varying levels of infrastructure. Some don’t have running water, sewer, or any kind of typical infrastructure. Add in the typically adverse weather, and you realize these challenges take a lot of communication, coordination, and teamwork to overcome. We serve the toughest people on earth—but I believe they’re among the happiest.”
