Capt. Jim Reith is an ex-military fighter pilot and airline pilot with over 17,000 hours of flight experience. Originally from Edmonton, Alberta, Jim attended the Royal Military College in Kingston, graduating with an honours engineering degree. In the RCAF, he flew CF-101 Voodoos, was a flight instructor on the Tutor aircraft and had a tour with the Snowbirds jet demonstration team, flying as 2nd Line Astern in the 9-plane formation.
Capt. Reith left the military for the airlines, operating a range of heavy and medium airliners on domestic North American routes and internationally to Europe, Asia and Australasia.
Jim volunteered to assist the Abbotsford Int'l Airshow in 1999 and was the show’s Air Boss from 2001 - 2112. Captain Reith was appointed President of the Abbotsford Airshow in 2013 continuing to lead the show until 2022. Opting to take a lesser role, he continues as the airshow's Flight Operations Director, coordinating the flying and static aircraft displays with all the associated logistics.
