The company was founded by Carl Brady; he flew the first commercial helicopter to Alaska to work on a mapping contract for the U.S. government.

During construction of the pipeline, the company started its fixed-wing division, based on DeHaviland Twin Otter and Convair 580 aircraft.

[6] The combined air group Era Alaska was renamed Ravn Alaska,[10] Era Airlines was renamed Corvus Airlines,[11] and while Hageland Aviation Services and Frontier Flying Service would keep their names, they both began operating as Ravn Connect.

[13] In January 2018, Ravn Alaska received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to put in place a safety management system similar to those implemented by larger airlines across the USA.

[14][15] On April 5, 2020, in the midst of travel disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ravn shut down its entire operation, laid off all staff, and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

[16][17][18][19] The leadership of the North Slope Borough attempted to take possession of the airline's assets in order to maintain flights and shipments to their rural communities, but the Alaska Attorney General said that they did not have authority for this action.

[20] The sudden stoppage of all operations stranded dozens of communities in rural Alaska, leaving them without regularly scheduled air service.

[22] On November 13, 2020, while awaiting approval from the US Department of Transportation authority for scheduled operations, the airline resumed service to Dutch Harbor (Unalaska), Homer, Kenai, Sand Point, and Valdez using Public Charters managed by "Ravn Travel."

[24] In 2021, Ravn Alaska's parent company announced plans to launch Northern Pacific Airways, a new low-cost airline that would fly passengers between North America and Asia via a stopover at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.

On February 23, 2024, CEO Rob McKinney announced that 130 employees had been laid off amid increasing financial difficulties.