Please dis regard this thread.

hmmm.. that's a new one to me. It's your first post, so maybe I just fell for the troll.

would make sense. If nothing else it was a well thought up story that was told in the cockpit

When there is no rumour. Start a rumour.

Considering talking to Management yesterday about future plans and progress there was no mention of any take over. Suncor puts out a tender yearly to all operators to see what they would cost to run Suncor FD.... And every year Suncor operating itself always comes in cheaper. And to be honest.....Suncor service and aircraft are way out of Canadian North's league. Sorry to say but this rumour is false.

Suncor won't even look at a charter operator if their fleet age is over 10 years old.

I'm sure some bean counter downtown saw what happened to Shell and got an idea of how to get his next bonus.

Bean counters also see that Flair went WAY WAY over budget before their first year is over and Shell is not quiet happy! Plus heard some more word on it and Canadian Norths proposal was almost 2x what Suncor operates at.

Kenorapilot, I'd like to know your sources or did you pass off rumour as fact?
The press release re; Flair signing a contract with Shell was made Oct 2013, by my math even if they started operating the next day, which they did not, the "first year" is only half done. I'm also certain the contract has a fixed cost that flair agreed to work for and find it very unlikely they were WAY WAY over budget.
Stranger things have happened, so you never know it could be true

Meh,

I don't believe it. Is Suncor still all 604 (or whatever it is now)?

KenoraPilot wrote:Bean counters also see that Flair went WAY WAY over budget before their first year is over and Shell is not quiet happy! Plus heard some more word on it and Canadian Norths proposal was almost 2x what Suncor operates at.

I'll agree with you there! Shell is defiantely kicking themsleves now! Hopefully the decision makers at Suncor are watching the overpriced mess at Shell!

I had an interesting conversation with a Shell upper management fellow who stated: the flying is the simple part we can get just about anybody to do that, and they are very happy with Flair and Flair has a 10 year contract. That doesn't sound like disappointment to me. Of course from a pilots point of view that takes a bit of the wind out of the sails so to speak.
Just an observation. The real problems for the oil company using airplanes isn't cost as much as reliability and consistent standards. They want the same airplane going to the same place when they want it to go there. Not when the scheduled service to somewhere else is done and the aircraft is available. They want to be in control of the movement of their people on their schedule.

The real problems for the oil company using airplanes isn't cost as much as reliability and consistent standards.

The real problem is that the Oil Companies don't understand weather and aviation law. I've dealt with an angry VP of some sort or another everytime it fogs in in the oilsands. It's very frustrating talking to them because they think that airplanes are somehow magically able to get in despite thick fog, low ceilings. And they don't understand that screaming or throwing money at it doesn't work, which makes them madder.

At the risk of starting a flame contest , if you think oil company VP's are the only people who believe that throwing money at weather issues will solve them you are mistaken. Your average passenger looses all common sense when they walk through the door of an airport terminal. This occurs worldwide from my experience.
I will grant you that the oil company VP's and other downtown types are pretty much ignorant when it comes to operating rules and conditions.

What I love is how the oil companies preach safety safety safety! But... they have no problem dispatching their flights at 330AM with a flight crew that woke up at 1AM to be at work. It makes perfect sense.

Yet somehow seat belts on a school bus protects their workers travelling 20km/hr in what could easily be a 60km/hr zone. You could hit me with the bus at that speed and I would probably dust myself off and walk away.