The airline was established and started operations in 1987; it is wholly owned by 580741 BC.[7] In 1997 Central Mountain Air placed an order for additional Raytheon Beech 1900D Airliner aircraft and began operating as an Air Canada connector, replacing Air BC operating several routes within Alberta and British Columbia, latterly under the Air Canada Express banner. In October 2011, Central Mountain Air ceased its Capacity Purchase Agreement (CPA) with Air Canada. The agreement had been for flights from Calgary to Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Cranbrook. Central Mountain Air continues to be an Air Canada codeshare partner for flights from Vancouver to Quesnel, and Williams Lake.
In late 2005, the first of two Dornier 328 were delivered to the airline, for use on chartered and scheduled flights. In 2014 they received their third Dornier 328. In March 2010, 580741 BC, the parent company of Central Mountain Air, purchased fellow British Columbia-based airline Hawkair.[8] On November 18, 2016, Hawkair declared bankruptcy, had all assets seized for liquidation, and permanently suspended operations.[9]