Pascan Aviation (P6, Montréal Metropolitan) has announced it will be undertaking series of staff and fleet cut backs to help streamline its business in the wake of declining demand. The founder and president of the carrier, Serge Charron, told La Presse Canada that Pascan Aviation's domestic Quebecois operations were no longer profitable and as such, would move to retrench 240 out of a total of 340 employees while selling off fourteen of its twenty-two aircraft which includes three ATR42-300(QC)s, twelve Jetstream 32s, four PC-12s, and various Beech (twin turboprop) aircraft.

"Regional transport is no longer profitable," he said. "But this is the situation we now find ourselves in. It's always difficult to fire employees and reduce the size of the company, but we do what has to be done."

Charron blamed a myriad of factors for the downturn chief among them the abandonment of Plan Nord, an economic development strategy launched by the government of Quebec in May 2011 to develop the natural resources extraction sector in the part of Quebec north of the 49th parallel, and a weakening minerals and mining sector.

"In 2012, we invested millions in anticipation of the Plan Nord," he said. "It was shelved in 2013, just as we were up to our necks in debt."

Quebec's sluggish economy has also impacted the airline's services wherein the province's government moved to curb the number of subsidized medical flights from the province's more remote settlements resulting in substantially lower demand for Pascan's services.

Various approaches to both the Quebec and Canadian governments for financial assistance have also amounted to naught.

However, despite the current gloomy status-quo, Charron is cautiously optimistic about his carrier's future adding that it will survive the current market downturn albeit as a more leaned-down operation similar to its pre-2011 self.

Currently, Pascan offers charter and FBO services along side scheduled flights between the Quebecois destinations of Bagotville, Baie Comeau, Bonaventure, Havre St. Pierre, Îles de la Madeleine, Mont Joli, Montréal Metropolitan, Québec, Rouyn, Sept-Îles, Val d'Or, and Wabush