Who is the BC Medevac contract going to?

[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.

[J31]

While I do not know any details of BC air ambulance bid, is it not time to update to newer heli's?

Was Helijet flying the S76A on the air ambulance contract?

It looks like the newest S76 Helijet has is 17 years old. The S76 is a good machine but, like the Boeing 737, the S76 has roots going back to 1977. The latest S76D is no longer in production.

Was Helijet not willing to bid with new helicopters? Is the AW169 better heli for the mission?

Oh so many questions!

[Schlomo Overpeck]

I’d be interested find out who the fixed wing contract is going to. As far as I know, nothing official yet. Unofficially, rumours are of a significant change for the primary operator.

[Notta Simfalt]

Carson.

[Notta Simfalt]

https://stockhouse.com/news/press-relea ... fixed-wing

[boeingboy]

The article mentions they require new King Air's.....no mention of Citations.

Does that mean they are getting rid of jets?

[North Shore]

The new contract calls for 10+ new aeroplanes - obviously those can't all be delivered at once, so the plan is, (AFAIK) as the new planes come from the factory, to slowly retire the older machines in favour of the new ones. The Citations will eventually be retired from the BCAS contract, but that will take a year or two yet. Whether they will be put out to pasture completely, I don't know..