Denendeh Helicopters expanding its fleet
New helicopters are already being leased out for contracts
April Hudson
Northern News Services
Monday, June 29, 2015
DEH GAH GOT'IE KOE/FORT PROVIDENCE
Two helicopters recently purchased by Denendeh Helicopters Ltd. are already on their way to snagging Deh Gah Got'ie Koe lucrative contracts.
Denendeh Helicopters is a partnership between Deh Gah Got'ie Koe and K'atlodeeche First Nation. The company collaborated with Great Slave Helicopters to add the two new choppers to its fleet.
Deh Gah Got'ie Koe Chief Joachim Bonnetrouge said the helicopters arrived in the summer of 2014.
Most of the helicopters now owned by Denendeh Helicopters are currently being contracted out to assist with fire suppression efforts in the Northwest Territories and to work in the mountains of B.C. Although Bonnetrouge could not say how much those contracts are worth, he did say the company has recently secured a contract in B.C. that will utilize one of the new helicopters for shift changes on an ocean liner, transporting boat crews for Nexen Inc.
"Because of their capabilities and instrumentation, they can fly at night time. That makes them useful for that work," Bonnetrouge said.
Both helicopters are of Eurocopter BK-117B-2+ twin-engine design and
are medium transport helicopters.
Diana Leggett, aboriginal relations administrator for Great Slave Helicopters, said the purchase price for the helicopters is not being released.
"Both BKs are very special helicopters, in Canada especially, because they can fly with very low or no visibility," she said.
The helicopters can carry up to 10 passengers while travelling 35 per cent faster than many of their single-engine counterparts, and use up nearly 25 per cent less fuel while doing so.
They bring Denendeh's fleet up to four. Together, the new acquisitions are part of Denendeh's growth model and are expected to increase the company's revenue by at least $880,000 per year.
Bonnetrouge said the helicopters are partly owned by Denendeh Helicopters and partly owned by Great Slave Helicopters, who encouraged Denendeh to make the purchase. Denendeh agreed in part because it was a good business opportunity, Bonnetrouge said.
"We were guaranteed some forestry contracts every summer, and those are big, heavy contracts," he said.
"Our main priorities were safety and power, which is why the helicopters we bought needed to be twin-engined."
Denendeh Helicopters is currently in the last year of a five-year contract with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to provide fire support and suppression in Hay River. That contract is valued at more than $2 million.
Bonnetrouge said the new helicopters will also be leased out for fire suppression.
"If all hell breaks loose and our country is burning up, ironically we make millions," he said.
Denendeh Helicopters has been operating since 1993 and also owns a Eurocopter AS350 BA and a Bell 206 Long Ranger. With the new additions, the company is now one of the largest aboriginal-owned helicopter companies in Canada.
Roy Fabian, president of Denendeh Helicopters and K'atlodeeche First Nation chief, was unavailable for comment at press time.
