Niagara Falls Tours

[ATPMBA]

Do those helicopter tours make any money? Do they operate in the winter?
Is there enough passenger traffic to justify an operation?

[El_Duderino]

In 2003 I worked for the fixed wing operator there that did the tours out of CYSN. Our office was right next door to one of the helicopter operators. We were in a constant battle with them to get business. The summer I worked there tourism was down and we were not very busy and either was our competition.

All the pilots (5 of us) were laid off for the winter which was the norm at this business, and same with the helicopter company. However the owner there was also a pilot and was pretty much on call during the winter just in case they got a walk in or a bus of tourists.

Now there is another operator where they have their own heli-pad very close to the actual falls. I believe he has a special permit where he is able to get quite close and fly quite low to the falls. There is restricted airspace due to the Niagara Falls Air Force base in the U.S. This operator is very successful and has been around for a long time. But again its seasonal work, I believe they are very busy in the summer and slow down in the winter. They also offer winery tours of Niagara and actually do some work for wineries in the area. This company is called Niagara Helicopters.

Now from my experience when I worked for the fixed wing operator they weren't making much money. But back in the day when tourism was high and fuel was cheaper they were doing ok. Throw in high fuel prices, bad economy and swine flu or the like and the business is going to suffer like any other tourism based operation. But Niagara Helicopters have seem to beat the odds and done very well.

[rotornut]

El
You are right - Niagara Helicopters has done very well. Part of their success is that they have very aggressive marketing and manage to get many of the tour busses to stop at their base.

[Pilot DAR]

Niagara Helicopters run, in my opinion, an excellent operation. Great credit is due to the owner for his innovative ,and community minded attitude. Their success is well deserved.

Niagara Air Tours was also led by two gentlemen with an excellent attitude toward aviation, and their community. A shift in economic factors, and their decision to sell the business to another person, who did not make such a go of it, were unfortunate, but a reality. It is a little challenging to get the tourists all the way out to the airport, when an excellent service is so close to downtown...

It's a tough business, but the strong survive...

[rotornut]

Niagara Helicopters was started back in the 70s primarily as a flight school based in Metcalfe, Ontario. The outfit used Enstroms for training in the off season. During the tourist season the helicopters were used for sightseeing at the Falls and the school employed its graduates as pilots. This worked out very well and to the best of my knowledge they never had an accident.

In 1982 the owner was killed in an un-aviation related accident. His father was not interested in keeping the business and sold it for a very good price, minus the hardware, to the present owner who never looked back. So the company went from a small operation with a handful of small helicopters to the present sophisticated operation using 407s.

[carholme]

Rotornut;

Niagara Helicopters was in business for several years before the 1970s and was begun by Paul Ostrander. I applied there for flight training when I was still in the Canadian Army in the early '60s. You will see from the attached link that they operated 7 Bell 47Gs in 1971 at Niagara Falls.

http://viking.twolaneroads.com/pix/VikingFleet_1971.pdf

His son Bill was also a helicopter pilot who flew the S76 and AS332 at Sealand Helicopters in the '80s.

Paul was definitely one of the helicopter pioneers in Canada along with Brady, Agar, Soutar and others.

carholme

[rotornut]

carholme
Thanks for that. I didn't realise they started that far back. In 1982 they only had Enstroms - I can't remember which model - Falcons or Sharks?

[BH06L3]

Last year I stop by Niagara Helicopters to check out the business see how they run things. I met Ruedi Hafen the owner and got the grand tour. He was the last pilot flying. I asked why, and he said he is the first guy to show up in the morning and last guy to leave. I thought great attitude.

They got an amazing heliport there. Theres a heated cage with 2 German shepherds beside the hanger. If you hop the fence the sirens and lights start flashing. If you keep going further and hit the second laser sensors it automatically opens the gates and releases the dogs.

I would say they do very well and Ruedi has all the toys to prove it. I made the mistake of mentioning that we were picking up an AS350. I got blasted for about 20 min on why 407's are far Superior. It was Hilarious. They only fly Bell. Over the years they have operated 206 series 412 and even had a Twin Ranger.

[rotornut]

I got blasted for about 20 min on why 407's are far Superior
Better support fom Bell?

[BH06L3]

Rotornut

Yes it was basically the support as well as a couple incidents over the years that always had a safe outcome for the company. I also suspect Bell probably treats them very well.