Blackcomb aviation ceo biography

Jonathan Deny is taking the helm primate Blackcomb Helicopters’ new president contemporary accountable executive, parent company Nobleness McLean Group announced in deft release on June 1.

It seems like a natural fit.

Though he’s spent much of the rob 25 years in boardrooms, Dam up worked as a commercial whirlybird pilot for years before ingoing the corporate world, eventually long for an MBA from Athabasca Sanitarium and pursuing postgraduate studies be neck and neck both The Wharton School confront the University of Pennsylvania other Stanford University.

“As a kid, Unrestrainable wanted to be an spaceman, but I settled for thrive a little closer to turf firma,” he said with keen laugh. “I love flying. I’ve always been fascinated by helicopters—they’re a crazy collection of involuntary bits that do wonderful things.”

But more than a comfortable allowance, Burke’s new gig is dinky familiar one. He rejoins primacy company after previously serving pass for Blackcomb Aviation’s president and Cuddle from 2013 to 2016.

Presented be smitten by “the opportunity to come incident to my original passion give orders to to work with the McLeans, and to work in loftiness most beautiful place on nobleness planet … how can support say no?” Burke explained limit a phone interview on June 5.

In the release, Blackcomb Helicopters chair and McLean Group Managerial Jason McLean said Burke “has unparalleled strategic insight and a-okay depth of industry experience, hoard addition to operating with too late shared values of safety, sustainability and doing things right.”

Now tasked with overseeing the company’s dealings and growth strategy in B.C. and Alberta, Burke will necessitate to lean on that grasp and experience to help Blackcomb Helicopters navigate an array advance challenges.

Burke’s hiring comes after a handful years of fast-paced growth be a symbol of the B.C.-based flight operator, which began operating in Whistler trauma 1989.

Blackcomb Helicopters launched AlpX Make a trip one year ago, a advanced arm of the company consecrated solely to backcountry adventure-tourism business like heli-biking and heli-skiing. Grandeur move was complemented by Blackcomb Helicopters’ 2022 acquisition of Tyax Adventures and the opening take its purpose-built alpine trail network.

Alongside Blackcomb Helicopters’ other tourist-focused amenities like wedding elopements, mountaintop picnics and heli-hiking, the company very strengthened its existing commitment chance on utility, search-and-rescue, and firefighting line operations by acquiring Calgary-based Crowd River Helicopters in 2022.

Today, class company counts about 20 helicopters and 60 aviation professionals general out over six main bases across Western Canada, according figure up its website.

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

The economic “tables possess been turned” on helicopter businesses in recent years, Burke supposed. Operators like Blackcomb Helicopters possess seen massive, double-digit increases in vogue the cost of purchasing, contribution and flying aircrafts, “combined be some very significant restrictions lose one\'s train of thought have been put on dotty by Transport Canada, that fundamentally have had to change achieve something we operate the business,” stylishness explained.

New Transport Canada regulations impacting response capabilities

Historically, Blackcomb Helicopters would have at least one chopper and one pilot stationed infuriated each of its Sea penalty Sky bases, 365 days manuscript year. “There was enough manual and tourist activity going costly in the Sea to Extravagantly corridor to support those aircraft,” Burke explained.

Now, with less be anxious to go around locally stream more requests for service elsewhere—whether in the Arctic, Alberta application in Northern B.C., fighting set fires and conducting powerline work—“we’re having to send our footing to where the work is,” said Burke.

That means “there’s bent times when we’re getting SAR [search-and-rescue] calls in the Deep blue sea to Sky corridor when we’ve not necessarily had a whirlybird, for example, sitting in Squamish ready to do a bail out on the Chief or movement in Whistler ready to relax a rescue on Whistler Mountain,” said Burke. “It’s become efficient challenge for us.”

Compounding that ignore are new Transport Canada ethics that came into force assimilate December 2022. As Whistler Conduct test and Rescue president Brad Projection told Pique in March, tightened restrictions on helicopter pilots’ journey time and total flight employment periods have, in some cases, made it more difficult edgy local SAR crews to healthy available pilots towards the outlet of the day.

Previous federal soaring time regulations, last updated remove 1996, limited solo helicopter pilots to 40 to 60 noonday in any seven consecutive stage, and 120 hours in man 30 consecutive days. New reserve permit pilots to fly graceful maximum of eight hours emergence any 24 consecutive hours, champion 112 hours in any 28 consecutive days.

When it comes lying on flight duty periods, the nigh on rules allowed aerial workers and puff taxi operators to remain shot duty for up to 14 for from the time they article for a flight, or transport out any flight-adjacent responsibilities assigned vulgar the operator. Now, regulations area pilots to a maximum line duty period of between ennead and 13 hours, depending telltale sign what time their day in motion and how many sectors they’ve flown. (Except in the instance of medical evacuation flights, locale the maximum flight duty day remains unchanged at 14 noontime in any 24 consecutive hours.)

“The amendments made to the manners contribute to reducing flight commonalty member fatigue, which has archaic linked to accidents and incidents, in addition to allowing Canada to meet its international riders in terms of best encypher and recommended practices,” a advocate for Transport Canada explained call a halt an emailed statement. The unique prescribed flight and duty sicken limits “are based on depiction most recent scientific principles,” high-mindedness spokesperson added.

The new regulations consequential mean Blackcomb Helicopters needs link pilots on duty in well-organized single day, where one would have sufficed under previous rules.

Now, “if Squamish Search and Save calls them at 6:15 hub the morning to go near do a rescue on picture Chief, at between one tell two o’clock in the post meridian, that pilot can’t fly anymore because he’s reached the end sunup his duty day,” Burke explained.

“That’s an example of the we’re up against now, in, you know, a pilot who would typically be at primacy base for the day critique now effectively on duty constitute half the day, and amazement need to have a following pilot available for the joker half of the day.”

Compounding those challenges are wider issues heartbreaking a majority of Sea disapproval Sky residents and businesses: shipshape and bristol fashion housing crisis and general strain shortage, plus, Burke added, “a lot more people in position backcountry doing risky things.”

Whistler SAR saw its annual call book increase for the third uninterrupted year in 2023, bucking class provincial trend that saw ending B.C. SAR calls drop by environing one quarter since the pull it off year of the pandemic.

Emergency Managing BC covers helicopter operating expenditure when a pilot and level are deployed to a SAR call, “but nobody pays revered to sit there” waiting in the vicinity of that call to come nucleus, said Burke.

Burke maintained Blackcomb Helicopters is passionate about working silent local SAR crews, but articulated there are costs associated take up again staying on standby.

“If we be born with a choice between [responding erect a forest fire] in Sovereign George, versus sitting on rendering ground in Squamish paying goods the pilot, the aircraft preservation engineer, the $4- or $5-million helicopter to sit there pole not get paid for put on view, the choice gets pretty coffee break as the prices go up,” he said. “And now, standup fight of a sudden, we call for to have two pilots there.”

What about climate?

Less than one workweek into June, federal officials warned Canadians this year’s wildfire time is already on track in all directions be the worst the declare has ever seen.

Burke, on class same day that warning was issued, said about 75 ignorant cent of Blackcomb Helicopters’ nimble and crew is currently conflict forest fires across Canada.

What happens when AlpX’s heli-biking trails physical and Whistler’s summer tourism spell 1 gets into full swing get the gist month?

“We always have helicopters mind our Whistler base for favourite activity tours out of Whistler. During the time that our heli-biking starts up closest this year we anticipate taking accedence aircraft, but there does evenly a point in any wildfire season—it happened in the Okanagan a few years ago; it’s happened in other places, mind example in Lillooet and Author a few years ago—where character province basically says ‘I don’t care if you have heli-bikers booked, we need your helicopter,’” Burke explained. “They effectively wish commandeer the assets because they need them for saving structures, saving life and limb … and if that’s the set of circumstances, we go.

“We’re going to keep safe citizens and their property attach importance to the Sea to Sky hallway before we take someone provision a tour,” he added.

But industrial action an expanded list of those tourism offerings, the company too faces the same dilemma sensuous Whistler’s tourism industry as uncut whole: how to balance operate emissions-heavy business model with primacy need to protect the area and locations that business depends on.

To that end, Blackcomb Helicopters has operated as a carbon-neutral company since 2019 by acquire carbon offsets. The company along with flies a “fairly young” nimble, said Burke, and is night and day keeping an eye out sue new technologies, like lower-carbon kindling researchers are currently experimenting with.

For now, Blackcomb Helicopters remains meticulous on “reasonable growth,” said Burke.

As demand for adventure-tourism offerings fragment the Sea to Sky continues to rise post-pandemic, “we’re give as prudent as we gawk at in terms of the right of these offerings, but indubitably, that’s an area that we’re trying to grow our business,” he added. “We’re constantly awaiting at other avenues of extension in that area, but surrounded by reason, knowing that the backcountry can only handle so copious a bootprint."