Who is the BC Medevac contract going to?

[Bug_Stomper_01]

It'll be interesting to see where the tender value sits. I saw the Carson Air one at 4.2M, and that doesn't get you very far. It's no wonder they pay 500 and bond you to the hilt.

Never sign bonds!

I’m not wrong, I never will, and I never have pee pee tweaker

[mmm...bacon]

It'll be interesting to see where the tender value sits. I saw the Carson Air one at 4.2M, and that doesn't get you very far.

I call BS on seeing the tender. It's a closely guarded secret by both the companies involved, and especially the Government until the contract is awarded. Further, as the RFP called for ~14 new aeroplanes, 4.2M doesnt even come close to the amount required.

[schnitzel2k3]

They have to provide who won a contract and the value of the award. Carsons was 4.2M but for an ealier bid with different requirements.

[schnitzel2k3]

It'll be interesting to see where the tender value sits. I saw the Carson Air one at 4.2M, and that doesn't get you very far.

I call BS on seeing the tender. It's a closely guarded secret by both the companies involved, and especially the Government until the contract is awarded. Further, as the RFP called for ~14 new aeroplanes, 4.2M doesnt even come close to the amount required.

See below.

[mmm...bacon]

Fair enough. I stand corrected, and my apologies for doubting your veracity.

That being said, that ad-hoc extension is for one aircraft for one shift, for one year, tagged onto a fleet of identical aircraft with pre-existing pilots. It's not like it's a stand-alone for an entire fleet..

[schnitzel2k3]

Fair enough. I stand corrected, and my apologies for doubting your veracity.

That being said, that ad-hoc extension is for one aircraft for one shift, for one year, tagged onto a fleet of identical aircraft with pre-existing pilots. It's not like it's a stand-alone for an entire fleet..

All good brother.

I'm just trying to think of costs and wondering how far 4.2M CAD gets you regarding providing a years worth of medevac services on either a KA350 or Citation Encore fleet flying 1000 hours a year. From my limited knowledge not far unless you are running multiple overlapping contracts at the same.

[goldeneagle]

I'm just trying to think of costs and wondering how far 4.2M CAD gets you regarding providing a years worth of medevac services on either a KA350 or Citation Encore fleet flying 1000 hours a year. From my limited knowledge not far unless you are running multiple overlapping contracts at the same.

4,200,000 / 1000 = 4,200. Pretty sure you can operate a kingair for a thousand hours when it's paying 4200 dollars an hour.

[schnitzel2k3]

What about the overhead for the rest of the fleet?

I'm sure they aren't asking for 1 King Air. Each king air has at least 4 crew to keep the 24 hour on-call plus reserve, and nurses. It starts to whittle down pretty quickly unfortunately. Not to mention factoring for depreciation or profit. This doesn't even take into account the Citations they operate, which I believe are also included and running thin - very thin at 4,200 per hour using your 1000/year.

It'd be great if it was 4.2M per aircraft, then yeah I'd agree you can make a helluva run on it.

I'm sure Carson has it figured out and is running multiple contracts to cover their fleet, but 4.2M leaves anyone else thinking of bidding on this scratching their head. And no, I haven't delved into the fine print on the tender - I don't think it eas available for viewing when I looked.

[goldeneagle]

It'd be great if it was 4.2M per aircraft, then yeah I'd agree you can make a helluva run on it.

The 4.2 was for one aircraft with 12 hours per day of availability.

[schnitzel2k3]

Well then that's pretty solid. 4.2M for 1 King Air and 12 hour availability leaves room.

[gimmepars]

Anybody know if that price includes fuel/de-ice/ramp fees?

[turbo-prop]

I would imagine the 4.2 mil is just to have the plane available. Mileage, ramp fees, deice, and fuel would be on top of that.

[wallypilot]

EIC would have not paid huge money for Carson’s Medevac operation a couple years ago if it wasn’t 99% sure it was getting the contract. It’s no mystery folks. If you bet on anyone else for the majority of the fixed wing contract you’ll lose that bet. I’m sure NT Air will keep their single 350 in YXS too.

And for what it’s worth, as a previous poster indicated, BCAS changed its tune in the early 2000’s wrt awarding of contracts. Since then they have prioritized safety and stability of the contractor over lowest price. Westex showed them that you get what you pay for, and so far since early 2000’s they still abide by the lessons learned. Captains dual typed are making 120k plus, and often getting to the 150’s with overtime. Granted, a lot of that pay increase has been in the last few years, but at least it finally came up. EIC realizes it’s hard to get people to move to YVR, so they have to work hard to keep the experience they have.

[‘Bob’]

The other thing that changed though was no single sourcing. Westex left BC Ambulance in a pickle and it was the other one plane operators like Nt, Carson, etc that had to make up the difference.

This new contract is going backwards to that philosophy of only really depending on one operator. The biggest difference is the fact that these are no longer mom and pop companies but mostly backed by large equity firms. It’s all changed, only the names remain the same.

It’s definitely going to be EIC though. The bid has an appearance of transparency but previous bids have been awarded similarly. There will be cries of foul and lawsuits, and maybe some settlements and political scandal.. but it will go ahead and life will go on.

[wallypilot]

Also, why mess with something that works? The last 15 yrs have seen the most stability in the BC medevac operations that I’ve witnessed in my lifetime.

[Lord123]

The BC Medevac contract is currently held by Canadian Helicopters Ltd.

[SeptRepair]

I heard through the grapevine, that Ascent was awarded the BC Heli contract.

[Bug_Stomper_01]

I heard through the grapevine, that Ascent was awarded the BC Heli contract.

Heard the same thing, that’s what the new 145 is for I think

[P180pro]

It'll be interesting to see where the tender value sits. I saw the Carson Air one at 4.2M, and that doesn't get you very far. It's no wonder they pay 500 and bond you to the hilt.

Never sign bonds!

I perviously worked for canwest and they are currently bonding FOs for close to 40k on a 250, their pay is horrible for newbies and from what I know they do not seem very keen on diversity, which I do not think would be a good fit for the BC folks, as the mennonite crew is pretty small there...

[michellepeters]

Shouldn’t this be awarded by now?

[‘Bob’]

Shouldn’t this be awarded by now?

[rigpiggy]

Who is going to give the largest kickbacks?follow the money

[mmm...bacon]

Rotary contract has been awarded: Ascent Helicopters out of Parksville. (apparently in conjunction with Babcock International)
One wonders if HeliJet (the current operator) is relieved or annoyed?

[-42]

Look at Adlair. It was the shadiest award of a contract I can remember. Aksaqniq air, the company that got it didn’t even have aircraft yet, piggybacked on Discovery Air who owned Air Tindi got it. Political and down right racist. Disgusting to say the least. Those contracts are typically awarded to the most politically connected as Canada is pretty corrupt, just look at the example of the feds. That poor little company got taken out at the knees and would up imploding. People have short memories.

[J31]

https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/park ... -1.6400694

Parksville company wins $544M bid to operate air ambulances in B.C.

B.C.'s air ambulance service is getting a major upgrade with the help of a Vancouver Island company.

Parksville firm Ascent Helicopters has been awarded a $544-million contract to help ensure more people make it to hospital when they need it.

"It's a tremendous boost of confidence in the company and the service that we have been providing for BCEHS (BC Emergency Health Services)," said Trent Lemke, owner of Ascent Helicopters, on Monday.

"For us, we're tremendously proud of providing this service for the residents of British Columbia," he said. "I think it's a very important step for healthcare in British Columbia."

"So it’s Qualicum Beach, Vancouver, Prince Rupert, Prince George and Kamloops [are] the main bases of operation," said Lemke.

Ascent Helicopters will purchase seven new Leonardo AW169 helicopters for the job.

"The new helicopter is about eight feet longer and has the ability to carry one extra person," said Ascent chief pilot Chad Friesen.

"The big change is the cabin size is much larger," he said.

The introduction of the new helicopters is expected to make it easier to get patients directly to hospitals around the province.

On hot days, like during the heat wave this week, operational restrictions prevent many air ambulances from landing on helipads at hospitals.

However, that won't be an issue for these new helicopters.

"A lot faster 'patient to the next level of care' transfer times so we're able to land right at the hospital on the pad, which hasn't been able to be done historically in warm temperatures," said Friesen.

Many crew members who currently work in air ambulances will be incorporated into the new operation.

The total flight staff is expected to be between 40 and 45.

Ascent is currently working on securing more space around its Parksville facility and is expected to begin operating in its new contract in fall 2024.

Friesen says he's looking forward to working with the new equipment.

"Better safety features, better auto-pilots, better automation, better avionics," he said.