Vancouver-based scheduled helicopter operator Helijet International has boosted its fleet by leasing a 23-passenger Sikorsky S-61 from Executive Transport Airways for flights between its western Canadian home and Victoria.
The one-year wet-lease agreement, with options to extend, ends a dispute between the helicopter operator and Executive Transport’s parent Coulson Group, which had proposed its own service on the route. “It made more sense to have our two companies work together,” says Helijet president Danny Sitnam.
The S-61 was set to start flights for Helijet in late September, adding 400 seats to the operator’s weekly capacity on the route.
Helijet had previously walked away from talks with Sikorsky to acquire 19-seat S-92 helicopters, saying the type was too expensive for its fleet.
ANDREZEJ JEZIORSKI/VANCOUVER
Source: Flight International
