Company upgrades DeHavilland Otters to turbine power,
the most dependable engines installed in any aircraft
Q. What is the official name of your company?
A. Bald Mountain Air Service Inc.
Q. What do you most want people to know about your company?
A. That we are an Alaska Native-owned business and that we specialize in custom aviation solutions.
Q. Where is your company located?
A. We have locations in Anchorage, Homer and Deadhorse, Alaska.
Q. What year was the company founded and by whom?
A. In 1993, by Gary and Jeanne Porter of Homer.
Q. What is your company’s primary business activity?
A. Air carrier, single and multi-engine charters
Q. Are there important projects the company is currently a part of or has done recently?
A. Alaska wildland fire support, oil and gas exploration support in the North Slope and Cook Inlet.
Q. How many employees does your company have?
A. We have a staff of 20 employees.
Q. Describe the equipment your company uses and are there any new equipment purchases planned?
A. We operate single and twin engine DeHavilland Otters, a King Air B200 and a King Air 350. We are planning to purchase two CASA CN 235-10 airplanes within the next year.
Q. Is your company expanding any of its operations or locations?
A. In 2014, we will be adding CASA CN 235 combi flights from Anchorage to Deadhorse. These new aircraft will give us the capability to carry 18 passengers with palletized cargo, oversized loads, bulk fuel delivery and wild land fire fighting smoke jumper/para cargo operations in Alaska, Canada and the Lower 48.
Q. Is the company changing any of its services or products?
A. We will be providing medium lift, oversized cargo and passenger combination services using the CASA CN 235. These planes allow for 18 passenger, along with palletized cargo flights from Anchorage - statewide.
Q. What is your company’s main strength or its edge over the competition?
A. We specialize in remote, short field, off airport support for natural resource exploration. We are an Alaska-owned company with a perfect safety record.
Q. What new markets, clients or projects did your company attract in the last year?
A. Oil and gas exploration, mining and wild land fire fighting support.
Q. What is the most challenging work/contract the company has undertaken?
A. We supported the FEX Oil and Gas drilling program in NPR-A with 2 Twin Otters and 2 Single Otters. This project was located 160 miles west of Prudhoe Bay. We operated in all types of weather, handling cargo and freight movement, while building an 8,000-square-foot hangar and living quarters at the same time.
Q. What are the biggest obstacles to completing work your company undertakes?
A. The Federal Aviation Administration needs for more resources so that it can certify additional aircraft for our client’s requirements.
Q. What do you see as your company’s biggest challenge in the next five years?
A. Being able to add additional aircraft to meet the needs of our clients.
Q. Does your company have an anniversary or other landmark event coming up?
A. This is our 20th year in business without any accidents or incidents.
Q. What is the average length of time employees work for the company?
A. We have employees that have been with the company for 20 years.
Q. What is your company’s safety record? What steps does the company take to ensure a safe work environment?
A. We maintain a fully functioning SMS program that tracks all safety related processes to ensure we maintain our perfect safety record.
Q. Has your company been involved in any community projects or charity events?
A. BMAS hosts the NRA banquet in Homer each year free of charge. We also support Make-A-Wish, allowing kids they are serving to take a flight to see bears. We donated seats on our Bear watching tours from Homer for Military personell from JBER and an additional 20 bear viewing tour seats a year for numerous charities.
Q. What is the address of your company’s Web site?
A. www.baldmountainair.com
