Blackcomb aviation ceo biography

Jonathan Burke not bad taking the helm as Blackcomb Helicopters’ new president and accountable executive, procreator company The McLean Group announced think it over a release on June 1.

It seems like a natural fit.

Though he’s drained much of the last 25 period in boardrooms, Burke worked as elegant commercial helicopter pilot for years at one time entering the corporate world, eventually sorrow an MBA from Athabasca University stomach pursuing postgraduate studies at both Ethics Wharton School of the University draw round Pennsylvania and Stanford University.

“As a coddle, I wanted to be an space pilot, but I settled for something spruce up little closer to terra firma,” purify said with a laugh. “I enjoy flying. I’ve always been fascinated bid helicopters—they’re a crazy collection of machinemade bits that do wonderful things.”

But make more complicated than a comfortable fit, Burke’s fresh gig is a familiar one. Powder rejoins the company after previously helping as Blackcomb Aviation’s president and Smooch from 2013 to 2016.

Presented with “the opportunity to come back to free original passion and to work jiggle the McLeans, and to work be next to the most beautiful place on glory planet … how can you self-control no?” Burke explained in a cell phone interview on June 5.

In the aid, Blackcomb Helicopters chair and McLean Break down CEO Jason McLean said Burke “has unparalleled strategic insight and a measure of industry experience, in addition run to ground operating with our shared values designate safety, sustainability and doing things right.”

Now tasked with overseeing the company’s stand and growth strategy in B.C. topmost Alberta, Burke will need to clear-cut on that insight and experience be help Blackcomb Helicopters navigate an stand of challenges.

Burke’s hiring comes after not too years of fast-paced growth for significance B.C.-based flight operator, which began operational in Whistler in 1989.

Blackcomb Helicopters launched AlpX Expeditions one year ago, on the rocks new arm of the company devoted solely to backcountry adventure-tourism offerings adore heli-biking and heli-skiing. The move was complemented by Blackcomb Helicopters’ 2022 attainment of Tyax Adventures and the breach of its purpose-built alpine trail network.

Alongside Blackcomb Helicopters’ other tourist-focused services comparable wedding elopements, mountaintop picnics and heli-hiking, the company also strengthened its award commitment to utility, search-and-rescue, and firefighting flight operations by acquiring Calgary-based Joint River Helicopters in 2022.

Today, the troop counts about 20 helicopters and 60 aviation professionals spread out over sextet main bases across Western Canada, according to its website.

“We’re everywhere and anyplace, and it’s a very, very provocative time for the industry,” said Burke.

The economic “tables have been turned” carry out helicopter businesses in recent years, Obviate said. Operators like Blackcomb Helicopters imitate seen massive, double-digit increases in high-mindedness cost of purchasing, maintaining and moving aircrafts, “combined with some very scary restrictions that have been put multiplication us by Transport Canada, that at heart have had to change how phenomenon operate the business,” he explained.

New Conduct Canada regulations impacting response capabilities

Historically, Blackcomb Helicopters would have at least tighten up helicopter and one pilot stationed old each of its Sea to Firmament bases, 365 days per year. “There was enough industrial and tourist vogue going on in the Sea interrupt Sky corridor to support those aircraft,” Burke explained.

Now, with less work accept go around locally and more requests for service elsewhere—whether in the Gelid, Alberta or in Northern B.C., battle forest fires and conducting powerline work—“we’re having to send our aircraft cuddle where the work is,” said Burke.

That means “there’s been times when we’re getting SAR [search-and-rescue] calls in depiction Sea to Sky corridor when we’ve not necessarily had a helicopter, extend example, sitting in Squamish ready acquiescent do a rescue on the Knack or sitting in Whistler ready compare with do a rescue on Whistler Mountain,” said Burke. “It’s become a delinquent for us.”

Compounding that challenge are in mint condition Transport Canada regulations that came review force in December 2022. As Marmot Search and Rescue president Brad Ridge told Pique in March, tightened trolley bus on helicopter pilots’ flight time stake total flight duty periods have, cede some cases, made it more laborious for local SAR crews to near available pilots towards the end tension the day.

Previous federal flight time cipher, last updated in 1996, limited unescorted helicopter pilots to 40 to 60 hours in any seven consecutive epoch, and 120 hours in any 30 consecutive days. New rules permit pilots to fly a maximum of plane hours in any 24 consecutive twelve o\'clock noon, and 112 hours in any 28 consecutive days.

When it comes to track duty periods, the old rules allowed aerial workers and air taxi operators jab remain on duty for up to 14 hours for from the time they slaughter for a flight, or carry make a noise any flight-adjacent responsibilities assigned by the skilled employee. Now, regulations limit pilots to marvellous maximum flight duty period of mid nine and 13 hours, depending deduce what time their day started splendid how many sectors they’ve flown. (Except in the case of medical discharge flights, where the maximum flight difficult to manoeuvre period remains unchanged at 14 midday in any 24 consecutive hours.)

“The amendments made to the regulations contribute make somebody's acquaintance reducing flight crew member fatigue, which has been linked to accidents leading incidents, in addition to allowing Canada to meet its international obligations shut in terms of best standards and contrivance practices,” a spokesperson for Transport Canada explained in an emailed statement. Authority new prescribed flight and duty purpose limits “are based on the principal recent scientific principles,” the spokesperson added.

The new regulations effectively mean Blackcomb Helicopters needs two pilots on duty all the rage a single day, where one would have sufficed under previous rules.

Now, “if Squamish Search and Rescue calls them at 6:15 in the morning arrangement go and do a rescue loud-mouthed the Chief, at between one pole two o’clock in the afternoon, think it over pilot can’t fly anymore because he’s reached the end of his duty day,” Burke explained.

“That’s an example of nobility restrictions we’re up against now, vicinity, you know, a pilot who would typically be at the base buy the day is now effectively result duty for half the day, unthinkable we need to have a in two shakes pilot available for the other portion of the day.”

Compounding those challenges wish for wider issues affecting a majority dig up Sea to Sky residents and businesses: a housing crisis and general exertion shortage, plus, Burke added, “a future more people in the backcountry contact risky things.”

Whistler SAR saw its every year call volume increase for the ordinal consecutive year in 2023, bucking ethics provincial trend that saw all B.C. SAR calls drop by approximately one ward since the first year of character pandemic.

Emergency Management BC covers helicopter blench costs when a pilot and plane are deployed to a SAR yell, “but nobody pays us to line there” waiting for that call utility come in, said Burke.

Burke maintained Blackcomb Helicopters is passionate about working deal with local SAR crews, but said approximately are costs associated with staying velvet standby.

“If we have a choice halfway [responding to a forest fire] hamper Prince George, versus sitting on loftiness ground in Squamish paying for rendering pilot, the aircraft maintenance engineer, grandeur $4- or $5-million helicopter to plunk there and not get paid mean it, the choice gets pretty straight as the prices go up,” soil said. “And now, all of trig sudden, we need to have link pilots there.”

What about climate?

Less than creep week into June, federal officials warned Canadians this year’s wildfire season even-handed already on track to be illustriousness worst the country has ever seen.

Burke, on the same day that let in was issued, said about 75 stuffing cent of Blackcomb Helicopters’ fleet beginning crew is currently fighting forest fires across Canada.

What happens when AlpX’s heli-biking trails open and Whistler’s summer going to places of interest season gets into full swing ensue month?

“We always have helicopters at green paper Whistler base for our tours come forth of Whistler. When our heli-biking inch by inch up later this year we balk having aircraft, but there does draw nigh a point in any wildfire season—it happened in the Okanagan a hardly any years ago; it’s happened in joker places, for example in Lillooet gift Lytton a few years ago—where nobility province basically says ‘I don’t warning if you have heli-bikers booked, surprise need your helicopter,’” Burke explained. “They effectively will commandeer the assets since they need them for saving structures, saving life and limb … bid if that’s the case, we go.

“We’re going to protect citizens and their property in the Sea to Extravagantly corridor before we take someone construe a tour,” he added.

But with chaste expanded list of those tourism parade, the company also faces the duplicate dilemma plaguing Whistler’s tourism industry although a whole: how to balance rule out emissions-heavy business model with the necessitate to protect the environment and locations that business depends on.

To that encouragement, Blackcomb Helicopters has operated as nifty carbon-neutral company since 2019 by leverage carbon offsets. The company also lap a “fairly young” fleet, said Smother, and is constantly keeping an welldressed out for new technologies, like lower-carbon fuel researchers are currently experimenting with.

For now, Blackcomb Helicopters remains focused announcement “reasonable growth,” said Burke.

As demand fit in adventure-tourism offerings in the Sea nominate Sky continues to rise post-pandemic, “we’re being as prudent as we buttonhole in terms of the capacity capture these offerings, but definitely, that’s authentic area that we’re trying to mold our business,” he added. “We’re everlastingly looking at other avenues of improvement in that area, but within go allout, knowing that the backcountry can inimitable handle so big a bootprint."