Susan Gordon, Staff Reporter
One of the helicipters from Island Hoppers Helicopter Tours. - CONTRIBUTED
THE NEXT time you hear the chatter of a helicopter over your head, you may very well be hearing Jamaica's only helicopter tour company conducting its business.
The year-old Island Hoppers Helicopter Tours is presently providing helicopter tours and transportation services for business persons and visitors to the island who need to hop over all the road traffic via the panoramic route.
Owned and operated by John Morris, the company operates out of Ocho Rios.
Helitours (Jamaica) Limited, the first helicopter tour company, offered similar services until about four years ago when it ceased operations as business slowed. Wednesday Business understands that Mr. Morris leased his helicopter for those operators.
"Much of our business is moving (local) people rather than tourists," he said.
On some days as many as 20 persons are lined up to fly.
The New Zealand-born Mr. Morris, says he has been flying for the last 34 years: "I've been a pilot all my life."
He explained that he started this business because it was the ideal one for his more laid back approach to life.
FEW COMPETITORS
It helps that his is the only helicopter registered in the civil registry at the local Civil Aviation Authorities (CAA).
One reason he has few competitors is that it can take at least US$1 million to start up a business of this nature, he said.
"I paid US$3,000 a month just to insure an aircraft," he said.
He encountered 12 months delay in getting the business off the ground which meant he had to pay US$36,000 for the year to insure the helicopter while business was still being set up.
Bearing in mind that at least two pilots are recommended for this type of business, salaries take a big chunk of the cost of running a helicopter business. Island Hoppers Helicopter Tours employs seven persons, including two pilots.
Mr. Morris explained that, as an operator, he had to arrange to get licences to fly both from the United States and Jamaica because of the types of flights that can be requested.
BENEFITS TO CLIENTS
Delays in the construction of the highway from Ocho Rios to Montego Bay have been a boon for his business, said Mr. Morris.
To avoid having passengers sitting for up to three and a half hours in a tour bus on the way from the airport, some hotels were flying guests direct to their properties. Users of the service get the bonus of a spectacular tour of the north coast shoreline.
Businessmen, aerial photo-graphers and a large number of persons from the upper end of the market who need to get from the airport to the hotels and back comprise the bulk of his passengers.
"I have seen a shift to more up-scale people, multimillionaires, using the services mostly as incoming visitors to the island. There's been a definite increase."
Mr. Morris said he has made trips to the U.S. but have to stop for fuel. A likely stop would be in the Bahamas.
Four passengers pay US$300 for a 20-minute flight or US$461 for 30 minutes on the tours.
EXPENSIVE COMPONENTS
Although flying around in a helicopter is expensive, the price of fuel is not impacting too heavily on the business said Mr. Morris.
"Fuel is one of the lowest costs. Maintaining each component on the helicopter which has a life span of between 1,500 hours to 5,000 hours is more costly."
The components then have to be replaced.
It can cost US$190 to replace components every time the aircraft is flown.
Apart from Mr. Morris, the only other civilian helicopter in Jamaica known to local authorities is that of the AIC chairman Michael Lee Chin.
He is said to be having a helipad built on the top of a National Commercial Bank building in New Kingston for more convenient travel.
