American Helicopters (companies) Working In Canada

[fly_boyz]

We see on occasion N-registered helicopters working fires in Canada. Usually it's one of Luc's machines (Heli Transport) but there have been some American firms flying up here.

 

Does anyone know what the process is? Can an American company bid on a Canadian contract and come up here and fly an N-registered aircraft on that contract? Do they have to establish a Canadian company first (with OAC)?

[Helilog56]

One word.........NAFTA

[Fenestron]

I've worked south of the border with Canadian registered aircraft, so the door swings both ways....get used to it.

Will it eventually benefit us? I hope so.

[cap]

American helicopter companies working in Canada? That was old news waaaaaaay before anything called NAFTA. It was old news when Luc Pilon was flying with me out of Sept-Iles, PQ eons ago as a"young pup". Luc's what you call a "late comer" at bringing "N" registered a/c into Canada.

 

ERA Helicopters out of Alaska have been coming to Canada to fight fires since before I entered R/W aviation. No Canadian company set-up........they just come when asked by a Forest Fire Agency or lease their a/c out to some Canadian R/W firm.....sometimes crews also, if they have a Canadian License and Check-Ride.........and they are but one American company.

 

Don't worry about some "American onslaught" because coming to "visit" us ain't anywhere near a s profitable as us going to "visit" them.......unless our Canadian "peso" made a very drastic climb in the last 24 hours.

[Over-Talk]

The last time I looked there were more Canadian ships working south of the border than US ships coming north.

Many US pilots get really pissed about it, but it's all approved by both governments under NAFTA.

Most US customers love the high level of service Canadians provide.

 

Note that any and every helicopter and it's crew cannot just cross the border to bid on work.

There are still a huge amount of hoops to jump through to access the other market.

 

Some N registered ships are in Canada because they are leased, operated and crewed by Canadians, (just the same as a C registered ship), but without a change of registration.

 

Also, there has been a long-standing arrangement for ships to cross the border in times of emergency such as fires and floods.