Hope Air’s annual plane pull presented by WestJet at the KF Centre for Excellence will raise funds to help Hope Air patients travel to vital medical care
KELOWNA, B.C. – September 10, 2026 – What happens when the healthcare you need is hundreds of kilometres away?
For many patients and families in Kelowna, accessing specialized healthcare begins with a journey. Whether it is cancer treatment, organ transplant care, pediatric care or other specialized services, patients may need to travel hundreds—or even thousands—of kilometres to reach the care they need.
On September 15, the Kelowna community will come together to help make those journeys possible as Hope Air’s Haul for Hope returns to the KF Centre for Excellence.
Presented by WestJet, Haul for Hope challenges teams of local businesses, community organizations and supporters to pull a 67,000-pound aircraft 100 metres, raising funds to help patients travel to vital medical appointments.
While Canada’s healthcare system covers medical treatment, the cost of getting there often is not covered. For patients who need to leave Kelowna for specialized care, flights, accommodations, ground transportation and meals can create an additional financial burden at an already difficult time.
Hope Air has been delivering on Canada’s promise of universal healthcare since 1986 by providing free medical travel support to Canadians in financial need.
“Haul for Hope is a powerful example of how aviation can make a real difference in people’s lives. We’re proud to welcome teams from across the Okanagan to the KF Centre for Excellence, bringing our community together to support Hope Air’s work connecting Canadians with the medical care they need.” said Chris Lapointe, KF Centre for Excellence.
Kelowna is one of Hope Air’s busiest hubs outside Metro Vancouver, serving both as a destination for patients travelling to the city for specialized medical care and as an important connection point for Kelowna residents who need treatment elsewhere.
In 2025, Hope Air supported 267 Kelowna patients and caregivers, arranging 427 flights, 146 accommodation nights and 211 ground transportation rides.
Behind each of those numbers is a patient or family facing a journey they did not choose to make. Haul for Hope gives the Kelowna community a tangible way to help make those journeys possible.
This year’s event also coincides with two significant milestones. Hope Air is celebrating 40 years of helping Canadians reach medical care far from home, while WestJet is celebrating its 30th anniversary.
As we celebrate joint milestones together, we acknowledge that WestJet began supporting Hope Air almost immediately after its founding – through a commitment of 96 round trip passes that first year. Over the past two decades of collaboration, WestJet and Hope Air have partnered to deliver more than 30,000 travel arrangements for 10,000 patients and their caregivers, representing the largest in-kind flight contribution from any airline partner.
“WestJet is proud to stand alongside Hope Air as a long-time partner, helping connect
patients and caregivers with the medical care and support they need through air travel for
more than 30 years,” said April Crane, Vice President, Communications and
Engagement. “We are honoured to sponsor and participate in the fourth annual Haul for
Hope, raising critical funds and awareness to support Hope Air’s mission and Canadians in
need.”
In 2025, more than 100 participants came together at the KF Centre for Excellence and
raised more than $30,000 to support Hope Air patients. This year, businesses, organizations, friends and colleagues are once again invited to form teams, raise funds and compete to pull the aircraft 75 metres in the fastest time.
“Hope Air was founded 40 years ago on a simple belief: where you live should not determine whether you can access the healthcare you need,” said Mark Rubinstein, Chief Hope Officer, Hope Air. “WestJet has stood alongside Hope Air since its earliest days, helping patients overcome the distance to care. As we celebrate Hope Air’s 40th anniversary and WestJet’s 30th, Haul for Hope in Kelowna is a powerful example of what this longstanding partnership and the support of an entire community can make possible.”
Moving a 67,000-pound aircraft takes a team. Helping a patient overcome hundreds of kilometres to reach medical care takes a community.
Every team that pulls and every dollar raised at Haul for Hope helps Hope Air provide the flights, accommodations, meals and ground transportation patients need to get to medical care far from home.
A very special thank you to the National Haul for Hope event sponsors for your support of all 6 Haul for Hope events in Kelowna, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, St John’s:
- WestJet, Porter, YVR, Uber Canada, De Havilland Aircraft of Canada, Calgary
International Airport, Pratt & Whitney Canada, CDW Canada, Signature Aviation,
Stolport, Nieuport Aviation, Toronto Port Authority, Edmonton International Airport
ABOUT HOPE AIR:
Hope Air is Canada’s national charity providing free flights, accommodations, meals and
ground transportation for Canadians in financial need who must travel long distances to
access medical care since 1986.
In 2025, Hope Air provided:
- 21,913 medical travel services for British Columbia residents,
- supported 5,623 patient and escort trips across 230 communities throughout the province.
- These services included more than 9,300 flights, 5,000 accommodation nights, 4,000 ground transportation trips and 3,500 meal vouchers.
About our patients:
- 58% would delay or cancel needed medical care if they had to pay over $500 for travel to treatment.
- The annual household income is $40,000, making travel costs a significant barrier to care.
- A patient would pay roughly $2,600 per trip without Hope Air support; a cost 5x greater than this threshold to cancel.
- Patients supported by Hope Air reported a 36% reduction in hospital admissions and a 27% reduction in emergency department visits, demonstrating that removing travel barriers helps people receive care earlier and avoid worsening health outcomes.
For more information, visit hopeair.ca.
Hope Air Media Contact
Jodi Lumsden, Director, Marketing Communications
jlumsden@hopeair.ca
