Tanana Air Service

Tanana Air Service roots extend back the 1960's. The company was started in the village of Ruby, Alaska by Mr. Harold Esmailka. Harold's Air Service, as it was originally known, operated for many years in Interior Alaska. In the early 1980's, Harold's Air was acquired by the Bidzy Ta Hot Aana native corporation, which renamed the airline Friendship Air Alaska.

Friendship was based in Fairbanks, Alaska, and had scheduled routes from remote bases in numerous towns and villages in Interior Alaska. Bidzy Ta Hot Aana ceased operating Friendship Air in 1989, and in 1992, resumed business under the name Tanana Air Service. Tanana Air operated scheduled routes and charter flights safely across Alaska for over a decade. Because of economic reasons, the company suspended its Fairbanks and remote stations operations in 2004.