Natural Air was founded in 1991 by Conner Thomas and Charlie Warbelow, a couple of bush pilots / businessmen from Alaska who had dedicated their lives to flying and maintaining planes. After many personal trips to Costa Rica, they identified the need for a domestic airline with a real understanding for reliability, safety, quality service and that could be regularly inspected by the FAA.

Having had many a vacation spoiled by late or canceled domestic flights, they were determined to turn the market around. Today, Natural Air has grown to safely carry a passenger load in excess of 35,000 per year and has started the process to enhance its fleet with the acquisition of 15-passenger turbo prop planes. All of this based on the commitment to truly service the client and provide him with safe, reliable and punctual flights.

After exhaustive studies of the topography of Costa Rica and the nature of its runways, Natural Air decided to use the Islander: a British plane known for its safety record and capacity to take off and land on unimproved runaways. As a two-engine plane, the Islander fit perfectly with the vision that Mr. Thomas had: a reliable aircraft, easy maintenance and at least two engines (a feature that he deemed essential for his commitment to safety). So far, Natural Air is the only regularly scheduled domestic airline in Costa Rica that uses multi-engine aircraft.

Once the aircraft were chosen, then came the task of finding the right pilots. After 40 interviews and exhaustive tests, Mr. Thomas selected seven pilots who had at least 2,000 hours of solo flights and multi-engine experience, a standard that remains to this day. With an average age of 37 and a combined average of XXXX hours of solo flights, Natural Air's pilots are the perfect complement to the airline's safety record.

Today, Natural Air flies to ten exciting destinations with a feeling that something is happening in the air. The newer LET and the reliable Islanders are cruising the sky above Costa Rica's rainforest with the certainty that somebody appreciates being there, on time.

FAA supervision and monitoring: Natural Air's mechanics and repair procedures are supervised and monitored by the United States Federal Aviation Administration . We are not only capable of servicing our own planes but regularly service other small planes for companies based in Costa Rica.

Requirements for pilots: Natural Air pilots are required to have 2,000 hours of solo flights in multi-engine aircraft to be considered for an interview. Conner Thomas and Charlie Warbelow, founders of the company and pilots themselves, personally conducts the interviews and tests. Today, the average age of our pilots is 37.

Multi-engine planes only: For your safety while flying, Natural Air has committed to only have multi-engines planes in its fleet. Here we apply a simple principle: if we are going to have problems with one engine, it is good to have another at least one more you can count on.

Weight and Balance: Careful attention to how the passenger load and luggage is distributed in the plane it is a critical part of our operation. That is why we ask everybody to check in 45 minutes before departure, only allow 25 pounds of luggage per passenger and we weight every passenger including carry on. If you have a problem with the weight of your luggage, we can help you solve it with our locked storage facility; in case you are already concerned about leaving part of your luggage with us, let us assure you that, in seven years, we have not lost one single piece.

Fuel facilities: We have our own fuel tanks to exclusively supply our fleet. This way we have complete control of the refueling procedure, including the quality of the fuel, its cleanliness, time of supply and cost.