Steven Gallant laughed when he read about the guys in Banff, bottling air and selling it. Until, he thought, it wasn’t so funny after all.
“So, then I’m thinking if they can sell “mountain” air, then I should sure as shootin’ be selling Maritime Air right from good old PEI!”
“Think about it,” said Gallant. “The smell of the sea air, the salt, ahhhh….there’s nothing like it. My buddy Ron takes me on the fishing boat and we go about five miles out and I bottle it there. He has lots of holding space so I use one of them for the air bottles. Ronny laughs at me, but I’ve sold a whole lot of this crap. Of course, I pay his fuel when he takes me out so that puts a little dent in the profits.”
When asked who his primary buyers are, Gallant was happy to share. “A lot of people from Ontario. That stinkhole Toronto, especially but pretty much Ontario. The smell of bus fumes, trucks, car exhausts; a fellow can’t get fresh air anywhere in that city, or anywhere around it. Used to be they could go up north, but now they have humidity and heat alerts all up through Haliburton in the summer you know? Oh, I forgot. We also have Alberta…mostly for those in the tar sands area. Can’t imagine what THAT smells like!”
“I’m getting $50.00 a bottle for this stuff,” Gallant volunteered, laughing heartily. “For an extra $5.00 I can add oil from a freshly caught Tuna for that authentic Maritime experience. I call it “D’Air de L’isle Prince Edouard. Those suckers on Bay Street think it’s just the latest hot trend.”
“If this keeps up, me and the missus can retire to Moncton in five years!”