Father Clyde Carlson & Son Shane Carlson; now following in his father’s footsteps and carrying on the family business. Shane has been flying commercially for the family business for 18 years, he manages the seaplane operations of both Northwest Seaplanes and Chelan Seaplanes. Northwest Seaplanes has successfully been in business since 1988. “We offer a specialized service of serving some of the best salmon fishing lodges on the Canadian BC Coast along with taking care of boaters and their guests that visit them during their summer cruising. Our customers enjoy the personal touch we have with our flexibility and one on one interaction for trip planning. Boating always has its changes due to weather and boats being boats, but we have the ability to adapt being a small company,” says Shane.
When Shane was asked about the ‘most popular’ items and ‘most unique’ items he has transported for passengers he had great stories such as; “The most popular items we transport with passengers are FISH. And on a good year there are a lot of them on-board in our float hatches! The most interesting item we have flown before is a pizza from a good customer’s favorite pizza joint in Tacoma. Ned, a regular customer of ours that brings guests in to visit during his summer cruising in the BC Inside Passage. Ned called one summer to tell us he was and craving his favorite pizza. He requested that we bring pizza up to him and his guests. I landed on a beautiful summer morning in the Octopus Islands; he put out in his inflatable and had a big smile on his face when I had the pizza in hand. I wish I had the pizza delivery sign on top of the plane. We like to take good care of our customers!” in Shane’s words.
NW Seaplanes has a perfect safety record! Shane was asked about their safety and maintenance practices his answer is, “Safety is our number one priority and has been since day one. Our perfect award winning safety record has not been by chance. We have a highly experienced pilot staff that works for us and it really pays. The BC Coast has its weather challenges, we fly in some pretty challenging weather there is always a time to put in good judgment calls; and wait it out. Sometimes the passengers are not always happy about it; but our favorite ‘motto‘ has kept us safe, ‘Better late than never!‘ And if I had control of the weather; I would still be in the seaplane business because it is fun. Our customers are important to us, they make our business possible. Flying with Northwest Seaplanes is not just a mode of transportation. The flight is half the experience folks get when flying with us to visit friends on their boats or going up for a salmon fishing vacation at the lodges and resorts we fly to. The best part of the day is when folks come back and tell us how much they enjoyed their trip and what a neat experience it was.”
Charter convenience is having the plane revolve around your schedule and location. “Superyachts and yachts prefer it as they are able to change out guests and crews on their travels. As long as you have some sort of small tender that can approach the plane to transfer of passengers and baggage it’s a breeze. Well, maybe not always a breeze for instance; I had a charter up to Big Bay, BC we had to do a boat to plane transfer at peak flood tide. The passengers were seniors and it took a little more time than normal to load and with a tide of 7 knots, we had to re-position the plane twice to get everyone transferred. The boat Captain Jeff and I still have a laugh about that every year when we plan his charter crew changes. Jeff always asks if I want to make it to Big Bay at mid-tide. And I always say if he brings a younger generation of guests,” describes Shane. It’s not just seaplanes that can be chartered. Follow this hyperlink and visit Jettly to see the different kinds of aircraft that can be hired privately. You may find that rather than a seaplane, a helicopter or light jet is needed for you to reach your location, or you may simply prefer flying in something a little more luxurious.
The convenience of floats allows you to land pretty much anywhere. Desolation Sound is a popular spot for Northwest Seaplanes doing boat to plane transfers. The beauty of floats is that boaters are not limited to airports and if they are, most are in marinas or on the hook. Where would you rather be? Would you rather be relaxing on your boat waiting for your guests; or would you rather jump in your vehicle and drive to wait in a boring old airport? In the Pacific Northwest float planes are unique to the area we live in, people just love them. The convince and reliable service of dropping you off exactly where you want to be is the ideal way to travel. Ironically, some of the most sought after NW Charter Destinations are the most sought after boating destinations. Desolation Sound is one of them for sure. People love the thought of having guests flown in right to them. It is convenient and when there are people coming and going at the same time it is not as expensive as one might think; convince surpasses expense; after all your time with family, friends and business destinations is valuable. For more details visit: www.nwseaplanes.com
