approach

CITATION
IN THIS ISSUE:
Blackcomb Aviation Citation Fleet Backed Cessna Service
Deadline Looms for FAA Mandated RVSM Monitoring
Heavy Rain Tips for Pitot Tubes and Static Ports
Conferences, Updates and more
JUNE 2012
DIRECT
approach
Customer Spotlight
Blackcomb Aviation Citation Fleet
Backed by Cessna Service
John Morris, Director and President of Blackcomb
Aviation in Vancouver, B.C., is certainly not into hyperbole. “I’m an absolute fact guy. I’m not an embellisher,” he points out. When the head of the Pacific
Northwest’s leading independent helicopter and jet
charter and jet management company chooses to say
something it is direct.
The company description lays it out: “Our reputation
for safety and service is our principal asset. It governs
every decision we make from the people we hire to the
aircraft we purchase and the services we provide.”
Blackcomb has provided specialized aviation services to
industries, business travelers, and private citizens since 1989. It operates six Cessna Citations, two Cessna singles,
and 16 helicopters out of a number of bases in Canada. Blackcomb also offers jet management services to a growing number of other Citation owners.
Textron Fleet
Morris, the understated co-owner of Blackcomb, leans toward Textron aircraft: in addition to the company’s all
Cessna fixed wing fleet, half of its chopper fleet consists of Bell helicopters. Both Bell and Cessna are Textron companies with a focus on reliability and strong customer support. The company operates three Bravos, an Encore, a
Sovereign, and a Mustang.
In an interview, Morris described his company. “We are not the biggest in terms of capitalization or what we do. But
we offer a very personalized customer feel. So, when you’re flying with us, no matter how big we get, it never feels
like we’re a big company. That’s the best way to describe us. We’re very Canadian.”
Morris’ own words spell out his thinking about the relationship with the Cessna Citation Service Center in Sacramento: “We have a fleet of Citations that we manage for people, and part of our management is of course maintaining, and part of our maintaining is dealing with warranty, ProParts, and having the heavy maintenance done at the
Cessna service centers.”
“That’s where the relationship comes into play. I’ve been dealing with the team down there in Sacramento for years.
It’s very convenient for us because it’s an hour and a bit away from Vancouver, and we get very, very good service at
the service center. They hold their timelines. They get the job done in a timely manner and they’re never adverse to
us. They set the stage when we arrive and follow up when we leave.
“We have excellent customer support down there with accurate quotes. And when things get off the rails as they do
with used airplanes, Cessna has been very supportive.
Standing Behind the Product
“For example, we had an airplane we’d always had trouble with the door. The airplane went down to the service
center and the bottom line was this: The problem with the door was generated right from day one. It was a manufacturing issue. And Cessna stood behind it. They stood right behind it and helped us resolve it.
“That was the big thing for us. The consideration was there, as opposed to, ‘Well, you know, it’s a used airplane, you
bought it, and it looks like it had a problem, but too bad.’ With Cessna’s Citation Centers it’s always been, ‘Look, we
recognize the problem. What can we do that’s reasonable?’
They’re always willing to go to bat for us. And these Citations that we run, particularly the Bravos and the Encore,
are like Chevy IIs, they just go and go and go. I really appreciate what those airplanes deliver for us.”
page
4
P LEASE SEE NEXT PAGE
Solid Bell Experience, Too
Morris said his experience with Bell helicopters has been similar: “I’m a Bell Helicopter guy, and a lot of that is
predicated on product support because we know the people. I remember a number of years ago when the 407
first came out, we came in at the end of the day and we incurred a chip light on a tail rotor gear box, and we shut
down. “It was 5 o’clock and we had trips the next morning. We’re down with a tail rotor gear box making metal.
We get the product support guys on the phone.
They go, ‘OK, you know what we’re going to do? We don’t have one in stock, but because the aircraft was under
warranty, we’re going to go out to the flight line on the production line. We’ll unbolt a tail rotor gear box. We’ll
have it on the red eye.’ “We were flying at 9 o’clock the next morning. Now, that’s customer service.”
Widely recognized for his leadership role in the successful expansion of multiple aviation services under the
Blackcomb Aviation umbrella, Morris has a distinguished flying career. His initial exposure to aviation came
when he finished school at 16.
Mining Job Leads to Flying Career
“I ended up working in the bush in mineral exploration, flying into camps in helicopters. I decided after my first
job that I wanted to be a helicopter pilot,” he says. “So, after my first job I came back and I got my private pilot’s
license. Then I went back to work in mining and when I came back the next time I got my commercial license,
and I just kept working. I finally went flying full time in 1978.”
Morris learned to fly in a Fleet Canuck 100 horse power tail dragger and a Cessna 150. Then he flew float planes
off the west coast of British Columbia. He started out as a float plane pilot on the west coast of British Columbia
flying Cessnas 185s, 206, and the de Havilland Beaver. Then he moved into light twin engine airplanes. And in
1979 he got a call from Okanagan Helicopters who wanted to train him as a helicopter pilot and he learned to fly
helicopters in Penticton, British Columbia.
For the next eight years he flew Jet Rangers to the Sikorsky 61, doing everything from fire fighting to off-shore,
oil and gas, and logging. In 1988 he went back into a corporate flight department that had float planes, helicopters, and jet aircraft, and stayed in the corporate aviation realm until 1995 when he started my own company,
which has morphed into Blackcomb Aviation.
Today, Morris holds airline transport licenses for both fixed wing and helicopters and has over 18,000 flight
hours, including several thousand in Citations. Married with three children, one of his sons, Evan, works for the
company as a Bravo co-pilot and 182 pilot.
For a man not into embellishment, his positive words about the Cessna Citation Service Centers provide a glimpse
into the important relationship between aviation operator, airplane manufacturer and aircraft maintainer.
For additional information call the
Sacramento Citation Service Center at
877-851-4SMF (877-851-4763).
page
5
w w w. c i t a t i o n s e r v i c e . c o m