Helicopter charter
Transfers where the landing site matters more than the cruise speed, and utility flying where the load matters more than the cabin.
It lands where an aeroplane cannot.
That is the whole case for it. A helicopter turns a valley, a ridge, a hotel meadow or a works yard into a destination, and it removes the road transfer that usually eats the time the aeroplane saved.
It is slower, it is weather sensitive, and it costs more per kilometre. Where the road transfer is short and the airport is close, we will tell you an aeroplane is the better answer.
What we arrange, and what we do not.
We do not arrange air rescue, and we do not arrange sightseeing flights. Both are specialist businesses with their own providers, and we would rather point you at one than pretend otherwise.
Transfers
Most transfer work is a connection: an intercontinental arrival at Zurich or Geneva and a destination the road reaches slowly. The helicopter is the part that removes the transfer, not the part that makes the journey glamorous.
We settle the landing site at both ends before we quote, because that is the part that fails. A private site is not automatically usable, permission is not automatic, and the answer can differ by season and by time of day.
What has to be arranged that an aeroplane never needs.
- 01 The landing site, at both ends Whether it can be used at all, who owns it, whether it is cleared, and what permission the flight requires. This is the single most common reason a helicopter movement does not happen as planned.
- 02 Permission for the site Landing away from an aerodrome is subject to authorisation, and the requirements depend on where the site is and what is around it. We establish what applies before quoting rather than after.
- 03 Weather, with a real alternative Helicopters are more weather sensitive than aeroplanes, particularly in the mountains. The plan names what happens if the site is not reachable, rather than leaving it to the morning.
- 04 The machine against the task Passenger numbers and baggage for a transfer, hook capacity and cable length for a load, sensors and endurance for a survey. These are different machines, and often different operators.
The landing site is the mission.
Everything else about a helicopter movement is easier than that one question.
What the work flights actually cover.
Tell us the mass, the dimensions and the exact coordinates at the enquiry. For a load flight those three things decide the helicopter before anything else does.
About helicopter movements.
Can we land at our hotel or our own property?
Sometimes, and it has to be established rather than assumed. A site needs to be physically suitable, the landing needs to be permitted, and in some places both are seasonal.
Send us the coordinates or the address early. It is the question most likely to change the plan, and the one that takes longest to answer.
How far in advance do you need to know?
Earlier than for an aeroplane, because the landing sites have to be checked. A straightforward aerodrome to aerodrome flight can be arranged quickly; a flight to a private site or a mountain location needs the site question settled first.
What happens if the weather closes in?
The alternative is agreed before departure, not improvised. Depending on the mission that is a different landing site, a road transfer from the nearest usable point, or moving the flight.
A helicopter operator that promises a mountain site in any weather is telling you something about the operator.
Do you arrange air rescue or medical helicopter flights?
No. Helicopter rescue is a specialist service with its own operators and its own dispatch, and it is not something to arrange through a broker.
For a planned medical transfer by fixed wing aircraft, including an air ambulance anywhere in the world within 24 hours, see our MedEvac page.
Do you do sightseeing or pleasure flights?
No. There are operators who do that well and sell it directly, and you will get a better price and a better experience from them than through us.
Tell us the landing site.
Where from, where to, how many or how heavy, and when. Say so in the enquiry if it is moving in the next few days.