Conair was formed in 1969 as a spin-off to Skyway Air Services of Langley, BC. Current President and CEO Barry Marsden was among the founding principals. Under the name Conair Aviation Ltd., the company started with 35 employees and 19 airplanes. In the early years, Conair was involved mainly in the budworm spraying and aerial fire fighting businesses. The 1970s and 1980s saw the significant expansion of Conair's fleet, capabilities, services and the evolution of Conair as a world leader in aerial fire control services and products.

In 1978, Conair acquired Frontier Helicopters of Watson Lake, Yukon, to complement its fire fighting capabilities with rotary-wing aircraft. The helicopter division developed markets in forest management, mining exploration and seismic support in Canada and around the world. In 1999, the name of the rotary-wing division was changed from Frontier to Conair Helicopters.

By maintaining our own fleet, (which grew to over 90 aircraft by the early '90s), and from the extensive engineering capabilities developed through our fire control products, Conair developed the expertise to enter the third party aircraft maintenance field. Since the mid 1990s Conair has offered aircraft maintenance services to other operators, and it is this business area that is expected to grow the most over the next several years.