{"id":352643,"date":"2023-11-08T10:30:18","date_gmt":"2023-11-08T15:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/?post_type=news&p=352643"},"modified":"2023-11-29T12:29:00","modified_gmt":"2023-11-29T17:29:00","slug":"ontario-government-increases-ornge-fixed-wing-fleet-renewal-12-aircraft","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/news\/ontario-government-increases-ornge-fixed-wing-fleet-renewal-12-aircraft\/","title":{"rendered":"Ontario government increases Ornge fixed-wing fleet renewal to 12 aircraft"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In an effort to better connect patients in rural and remote areas to urgent care, the Government of Ontario announced on Nov. 7 that it has added another four Pilatus PC-12 aircraft to a previous order for eight of the type \u2014 first announced in December 2022<\/a> \u2014 for Ornge’s air ambulance service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The total of 12 brand-new PC-12s, worth over $108 million, will replace Ornge\u2019s current fleet of eight of the Pilatus-built aircraft, which have been operating since 2009.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
An artist’s rendering of Ornge’s future Pilatus PC-12. Ontario Government Image<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In addition to its current eight PC-12 NGs, the Toronto-based medical transport provider operates 12 Leonardo AW139 helicopters \u2014 for a total of 20 fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft \u2014 as well as more than a dozen land ambulances. The planes are utilized for longer distance transports, while the helicopters are best suited for shorter distances and emergency on-scene response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This latest order announcement for an additional four PC-12s, made by Health Minister Sylvia Jones during a news conference at Ornge\u2019s Sudbury, Ont., base, will bring Ornge\u2019s total aircraft fleet to 24.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Swiss plane manufacturer, Pilatus, Ornge is expected to take delivery of its 12 new PC-12s between 2026 and 2030 \u2014 during which time its existing eight PC-12 NGs will be rotated out of service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are very pleased that Ornge has elected to continue the excellent long-term partnership with Pilatus in this upgrade to its fleet,\u201d said Thomas Bosshard, president and CEO of Pilatus Business Aircraft Ltd. \u201cWe take great pride in being able to support the health care system of Ontario’s citizens.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the new 12-plane fleet is ready, \u201cOrnge will be able to add two fully staffed, 24\/7 air ambulance crews to further connect people in the region in need of rapid emergency care,\u201d the Ontario government said in a press release. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a transformative investment in Ontario\u2019s air ambulance and critical care transport program,\u201d noted Dr. Homer Tien, president and CEO of Ornge. \u201cWith a new 24\/7 fixed-wing air ambulance crew based in Northeastern Ontario and additional aircraft added to our fleet, we will be able to bring high quality care in transport to more patients with enhanced reliability . . . particularly in Northern Ontario and among northern Indigenous communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the province initially announced Ornge\u2019s fixed-wing fleet renewal plan last December, it noted that it was considering expanding the total aircraft fleet beyond 20, with \u201clarger and faster aircraft.\u201d While Ornge\u2019s fleet is officially being expanded beyond 20 aircraft, the Ontario government did not reference adding other aircraft that are larger than the PC-12 or AW139 in its latest announcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ornge
The interior of Ornge’s current PC-12 NG air ambulance. Rick Radell Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Ontario government did, however, announce that in addition to its investment in Ornge\u2019s fleet renewal, it is investing nearly $10 million to move the medical transport provider\u2019s existing Sudbury base to \u201ca larger hangar in the city that can house both their helicopter and expanded fixed-wing services in one base.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ornge\u2019s other fixed-wing bases are currently located in Thunder Bay, Timmins, and Sioux Lookout. The new hangar in Sudbury is expected to help with better coordination of emergency care in Northern Ontario, where approximately 98 per cent of Ornge\u2019s fixed-wing patient transports originate from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs part of this investment, we look forward to working closely with Ornge as they expand their service at their Sudbury base and are committed to finding a suitable hangar solution at the Greater Sudbury Airport (CYSB),” stated Giovanna Verrilli, CEO of CYSB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each year, Ornge performs roughly 21,000 patient-related transports \u2014 17 per cent of which involve the fixed-wing fleet \u2014 covering a land area of over one million square kilometres.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Government of Ontario has added another four Pilatus PC-12 aircraft to a previous order for eight of the type for Ornge’s air ambulance service. The investment totals more than $108 million.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":352645,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-352643","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-aviation","entry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/352643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=352643"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/352645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}