Flightseeing tours of Misty Fjords have been among the most
popular and lucrative excursions for cruise lines in Alaska, but this summer's
market is in flux following back-to-back fatal crashes at one of the biggest
operators, Taquan Air.
Taquan has temporarily shut down, leaving a gap in the
availability of flightseeing trips in Ketchikan.
Holland America Line (HAL), with seven ships sailing in
Alaska and no other flightseeing company under contract in Ketchikan, is
offering boat tours to Misty Fjords instead.
In a statement, HAL said it is working with Taquan Air to
determine the appropriate time to resume excursions, but no date has been set.
Jennifer Thompson, a spokeswoman for Taquan, said the
company is going through an independent audit following the crashes.
"Everyone's trying to figure out what the next steps
are," she said. "We just don't have anything official."
Taquan officials met with the FAA on May 29, but Thompson
said a report on an Alaska television station that Taquan would resume flying
that day was not accurate.
Princess Cruises, which along with HAL makes up about 50% of
the cruise capacity in Alaska, was another Taquan Air customer. Princess
spokeswoman Negin Kamali said Princess also uses a second operator in
Ketchikan.
While there are a half-dozen independent vendors of
flightseeing trips in Ketchikan, they don't have the capacity to provide the
volume of daily flights that the cruise lines seek, one operator said.
"The cruise lines really push you to accommodate more
passenger numbers," said Loren McCue, owner of Alaska Seaplane Tours.
Taquan, along with the rest of Alaska's aviation community,
was jolted on May 13 when one of its planes collided in midair with another
flightseeing plane. Both carried passengers from Princess Cruises on excursion
from the Royal Princess.
The crash left six dead, including one Princess passenger on
the Taquan Air plane.
Then on May 20, a pilot and a passenger on a Taquan Air
commuter flight from Ketchikan died when the plane's pontoon caught in the
water on landing and the plane cartwheeled and broke apart.
While not unheard of, the accidents come in the industrywide
context of hundreds of flights safely completed each month, McCue said.
"We're operating more safely than ever," she said.
But she added that social media has changed the awareness of accidents when
they do occur.
"Social media has been a game changer. Absolutely,"
she said.
Reports are mixed about cancellations. Erik Elvejord, a
spokesman for HAL, said that while guests could cancel flightseeing excursions
anywhere in Alaska in the wake of the crash, cancellations have been "very
light."
Since HAL is not offering flightseeing in Ketchikan, guests
are finding other tours, he said.
Barry Karp, president of ShoreTrips, which offers shore
excursions independent of the cruise companies, said that in the 10 days after
the first Taquan crash, 53 passengers cancelled their flightseeing plans, but
49 new bookings came in.
Karp said he has 735 passengers on the books for Ketchikan
flightseeing, up 28% from last year.
McCue said she had "a ton" of cancellations after
the first Taquan crash. She offered full refunds but admitted she began to
wonder if her company could stay in business if it kept up.
"We talked some people into staying with us," she
said. Then the second crash caused another bookings tailspin.
Over Memorial Day weekend, however, bookings rebounded.
"People understand accidents do happen," McCue
said.
Alaska is suffering from a shortage of pilots who know the
terrain well and can provide good tours along with safe flying, McCue said. The
company is only flying one of its two planes this summer as a result.
"We ourselves were feeling the crunch of not being able
to find good pilots," McCue said.
Independent flightseeing companies pride themselves on providing
quality over quantity, McCue said, including pilots who can pick their own
routes rather than fly by rote.
"It's the difference between landing on a lake with
five other planes there or landing on a lake by yourself," she said.
Companies with larger fleets can meet the high cruise line
requirements for liability insurance, but they end up hiring pilots who may
have airline credentials but don't know the areas in which they're flying, she
said. As a result, they're locked into flying a fixed route, which can get
congested.
Thompson said Taquan Air is working to get its planes back
in the air.
Taquan had 14 planes at the start of 2019, according to a
timeline previously posted on its website.
Thompson said Taquan Air submitted an action plan to the FAA
and has resumed freight services, maintaining crucial cargo schedules for
surrounding communities and villages.