How are your tours different from the ones they offer on the cruise ships?

In general, our tours are better in quality, longer in duration and easier on your vacation expenses. For example, on our scenic tours such as the Misty Fjords tour, we will land on a lake, taxi to shore and let you get out of the plane and walk around on land within the fjords for 30 minutes to stretch your legs and enjoy the serenity of the breathtaking scenery. The tours sold on the ships will land on a lake but do not let you get out onto land. They float in the middle of a lake for 3-5 minutes and then take off again. As a result of this shore stop, our tours are 2 hours long while the tours offered on cruise ships are 1 hour and 15 minutes. Other tour operators may sell a two hour Misty Fjords tour which includes 45 minutes of land transfers to and from the cruise ship dock and their facility.  Our flight tour to Misty Fjords is 2 hours, however after you add land transfers our tour is actually 2.5 hours long!  We sell it for the length of the actual tour!

Additionally, we have voice activated headsets which enable you to converse with us and each other during the entire flight. The tours sold on the ships will have you plugged into a pre-recorded tape with no communication with your pilot possible. In our aircraft all seats are window seats!  Some cruise ship contracted companies sell middle seats. Cruise line companies charge a commission for the tours they sell onboard. As a result those tours are often the most expensive. Finally, we have our reputation to uphold. We truly enjoy flying around this magnificent state. It is a lifestyle as much as a livelihood. We take pride and pleasure showing you the best that southeast Alaska has to offer!  Michelle has been conducting and polishing her tours for over 18 years.  In that time, many of her competitors have tried to copy her tours, thereby eliciting the sincerest form of flattery-imitation, but they cannot take her place!

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How will we get to your facility from the cruise ship dock?

Transportation to and from the cruise ship dock and our floatplane facility is included in all tour prices. Our twelve passenger van will pick you up ten minutes before your scheduled flight time on the north side of the Ketchikan Visitors Bureau. We will also return you to the dock when you are finished with your tour. We are the closet air taxi business to the cruise ship dock about a two minute drive or a five minute walk from berth 1-3 and a thirty second walk or swim from berth 4!

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How do we find you on the cruise ship dock?

The pickup place for all of our tours is at the "Ketchikan Rain Gauge", also known as the “Liquid Sunshine Gauge”, a tall cartoon type structure with current rainfall information, located on the north side of the Ketchikan Visitor's Bureau. This building is small but centrally located in the middle of the cruise ship dock and is the location for tourist information. We also have a sales booth located inside the Ketchikan Visitor's Bureau. The Island Wings Air Service van is white and clearly labeled with our name.  We will pick you up and drop you off right at the rain gauge.

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How many people will your plane hold?

Our DeHavilland Beaver holds seven passengers comfortably.  We only sell six seats per flight as there are only six window seats. The exception to this is for groups of seven people who all want to go together. Our DeHavilland Beaver has had the interior seating reconfigured. This means that all six seats are window seats. Many of our competitors are flying DeHavilland Beaver aircraft that only have five window seats with a total capacity of seven seats. The result in this situation is the people in the middle have to look across the person next to them to see anything.

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What should we bring and wear for the tour?

FAA regulations prohibit carryon bags on aircraft that do not have storage area overhead or below the seat. For the flight you will be able to bring your camera bag and or a small purse onboard the plane. Larger day packs will be stored in the watertight float compartment for transportation or may be left in our dock office. Wear comfortable shoes. Getting off and on the plane is generally the most difficult part of the trip. You will need shoes with good traction that are comfortable on your feet!  Ladies, save your heels for formal night!  Wear layered clothing, such as a fleece jacket and a raincoat shell. Bring plenty of camera batteries and memory storage. Many people run out of one or the other on this tour!  See Photo tips at bottom of page before you come on flight!

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What is required to make a reservation?

You secure your reservation by making a deposit of 50% down via credit card or check.

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What is your cancellation policy?

We have a two week advance notice cancellation policy. If for some reason you have to cancel your flight and you notify us two weeks in advance, we will refund your full deposit if you have paid by check, if you have paid by credit card we will deduct the bank charges (3%) and refund the balance.  Also for acts of God, inclement weather, you break your leg, your cruise ship runs aground (don't laugh, it has happened) etc., we will refund your deposit. 

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A word about the weather.

It does rain an average of 180 inches per year here. This "liquid sunshine" is what contributes to the lush rainforest we live in. We will not cancel flights due to rain. We will however cancel flights that we feel you will not enjoy due to poor visibility or turbulence. Lastly, the town of Ketchikan and the point at which we turn around on the Misty Fjords tour is a total of about 70 miles. Within that great of a distance, the weather can and does often change dramatically. We can literally have fog in Ketchikan and sunshine in the fjords. To make an assumption that the weather in Ketchikan is the same elsewhere is a mistake. So if the weather does not look the best when you arrive, don't be discouraged, it is likely to be very different outside of town!

Legally we can fly in all weather conditions that meet or exceed Federal Aviation Administration minimums. These minimums are 500 foot cloud ceilings and 2 miles forward visibility. While I feel it is safe to transport people under these conditions, I do not feel it is enjoyable for a flight seeing tour. As a result of my desire to uphold a wonderful reputation in the visitor industry, I often cancel tours in weather that is safe to fly in, but not necessarily joyful for the customer. Some of my competitors, namely the cruise ship contracted companies, will fly in all weather that meets or exceeds the FAA minimums regardless of customer satisfaction. They fly hundreds of people daily and stand to lose a great deal of revenue even if one of their tours are canceled.

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Michelle:
My husband and I were to take this tour with our friend Mary Louise C.  The weather was horrible, but other flights went.  I was so impressed that you said we could go, but that we would not see anything and would not enjoy it.  Thank you for your genuine concern.  We will definitely keep you in mind if we return and will send friends your way. I really hate that we did not get to take the trip, but would have been very hesitant considering the weather.
Peggy M.
 
 

What is your safety record?

Michelle has been flying for 33 years and has accumulated over 17,000 hours flying time. She is the only pilot at Island Wings and flies here in Ketchikan year round. We do not hire seasonal pilots as many companies do. In addition we are flying aircraft that Michelle owns personally. As a result our plane is maintained well above the normal Federal Aviation Administration standards. 

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What if you are a Nervous Flyer?

“I have spent over 17,000 hours or nearly 2 years of my life above the earth’s surface in a little plane. But don’t ask me to drive a car on a freeway, I am terrified!  A plane to me is like a car to you; even more, the sky is my home. How often do you spend 8 – 12 hours a day, seven days a week in your car?  The bottom line is we do not fear familiarity, we fear the unknown.  So even if you fear small planes, know that I plan on being an old lady pilot not a bold lady pilot. I hope you will come and fly with me despite your reservations and let me show you the beauty of Alaska...”

Dear Michelle and Friends…
I sent my deposit to you and signed it “chicken” Edith.  Well I certainly was afraid – until you took off.  I am not a kid but I was so happy I felt like I was in Never-Never Land.  If I had a choice to “come back” after death it would be as bird.  Flying with you gave me a most calm and peaceful feeling and I was very, very happy.  I think of you often …I so much enjoyed flying – To me it was as if time stood still. ….I will not see you again but you will be in my heart as wonderful…

Formerly “Chicken” Edith – Now Edith

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Photo Tips:

 •  Know before you go!  I know those camera directions booklets are good insomnia material however, read just a few of the directions before going on this tour!  You are on vacation, take it to the pool with you!
 •  Know how to make the flash turn on (Also called forced flash).  Use this for taking pics of people inside the plane to lighten up their faces. Know how to turn the flash off.  Use this for taking pics outside of the plane through the glass while flying so the flash will not put glare on the window and mess up your photos!  For those of your going to Anan Creek or Traitors Cove Bear viewing areas, flash is not allowed at all as it scares the animals.
 •  Know where the scene selections are!  When shooting scenery it is best to use a mode that will help you capture it.  On some cameras it is called a landscape mode or a scenery mode, on the Cannons it is often called infinity mode. Other cameras have an aerial mode or a shooting through glass mode. Any of these setting will help to get the camera to focus on the distant most point (aka the beautiful Alaskan scenery) and not on the window!  Unless you want very good pictures of my windows, you will want to figure out this mode before you go on the flight!
 •  Whenever possible take pics on highest pixel setting.  Uses up more memory but it's worth it!
 •  Bring extra batteries and memory!  On every flight at least one person runs out of either batteries or memory on this flight!
 •  Wear a dark shirt or jacket. This will help reduce the glare on the window while shooting from inside the plane.  We charge extra for shooting from outside the plane!  Ha,ha…
 •  Lastly, taking pictures is fun and makes for great memories.  But while you are flying along, remember to enjoy the ride too. It’s not all about capturing the moment, it is also about living the moment!
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