Island Wings - Second pilot ?

[narsibvl]

So we took a last minute decision to book the misty fjords flight through Island wings and inquired about availability. I have quite a bit about Michelle and I always thought she was the sole pilot. I got a reply from them that Michelle is not available but they do have a second plane and a second pilot. Does anybody have any experience going with Island wings but not with Michelle ?

 

Paying quite a bit for this and I don't want this excursion to turn out to be a bummer.

 

Thanks in advance.

Narsi

[bearbait]

There are plenty of great pilots in Ketchikan that will put on a flightseeing trip that are better then Michelle. Her hype is quite a bit overblown.

[huskyguy]

There are plenty of great pilots in Ketchikan that will put on a flightseeing trip that are better then Michelle. Her hype is quite a bit overblown.

 

You're welcome to your opinion. I've been with her twice, have many hours flying my own bush plane, and think that she's excellent - the best I've been with anywhere.

[vbmom87]

There are plenty of great pilots in Ketchikan that will put on a flightseeing trip that are better then Michelle. Her hype is quite a bit overblown.

 

Do you care to share in what ways other flightseeing trips are better than those Michelle provides?

[ShipsandDipper]

When we contacted Island Wings but Michelle was booked, Island Wings offered to book us with another pilot. I had the same question--was this a second pilot with Island Wings, or a separate company? It's a separate company: Mountain Air Service (pilot Randy Sullivan). I have no way to compare Randy's flight with one of Michelle's, but we were quite satisfied with our experience. It's in my review (Star Princess, Round-Trip Seattle, May 25-June 1).

[bearbait]

Do you care to share in what ways other flightseeing trips are better than those Michelle provides?

 

Jeff Carlin, Carlin Air and Dave Rocke, Family Air. Both of them provide a tour that I think is better then Michelle. I've flown with all three.

 

http://www.carlinair.com/

 

http://www.familyairtours.com/

[vermonter16]

I'd be interested in knowing why the tour is better as well. I just did a tour with Michelle and I thought it was great. I can't imagine that the others wouldn't be great as well. Unfortunately, since I've done only one trip, I can't compare, but since you've done 3, what is the difference. Seems to me a lot of the planes are flying the same route....not that many different routes to go unless you are going someplace other than the Fjords.

 

I can say that Michelle was super professional and knew that plane like the back of her hand....

[PennyAgain]

A good part of the customer satisfaction with flight seeing in Alaska is the weather. If you have a sparkling beautiful day your happiness level is higher.

 

During the tourist season many pilots provide services to visitors for much the same prices and offerings for flights.

 

The pilots also know about Cruise Critic and many read the reviews and comments.

[vermonter16]

PennyAgain, that is probably a very good point. On the day we went, it was very cloudy and drizzly and on the way back we had to take the longer route because it was completely clouded in. We still had a great time though. I think that pretty much any float plane adventure to the Fjords would be fun and the pilots well experienced.

 

We just happened to chose Island Wings and we felt we had a 5* experience even though DH was ill from motion sickness and we had a cloudy day. But, I can definitely see someone having a 'better' experience in clear, sunny, weather.

[tangerinebunny]

We did Island Wings with Michelle in May; there was a second Island Wings plane. People seemed happy enough. We were together when we did the landing to stretch and walk.

 

I haven't flown with everyone, but we did enjoy this flight the most of the four Alaska flights we've done.

[narsibvl]

The second pilot is Randy, apparently he owns Ketchikan Mountain Air service . I did fine some feedback about him online. All looks good.

 

 

Send from device_name using Cruise Critic your_app_name App

[grapehound]

When Michelle is booked, she refers you to Mountain Air Service. It's a different company and a different pilot, but they share dock space. I got referred to Randy at Mountain Air after inquiring with Michelle and she was booked for our day in port. Island Wings booked the trip for me and I sent the deposit to them, but Mountain Air Service operate the plane. The company is basically him, his wife, and a guy who does the transport from the cruise ships to the dock.

 

Randy did a fantastic job and the flight was incredible. I highly recommend going with him. From what I can tell, he does a very similar flight to Island Wings, landing on a lake and taking you inland a bit to look at nature and take photos. Randy is from Ketchikan and has lots of interesting local information about the logging camps, weather, flora/fauna, etc. He also provides an amusing soundtrack for the flight. :) We were extremely happy with our trip and thought it was worth every penny. He also did a great job with the kids that were on our flight, if that's of interest to you.

[narsibvl]

When Michelle is booked, she refers you to Mountain Air Service. It's a different company and a different pilot, but they share dock space. I got referred to Randy at Mountain Air after inquiring with Michelle and she was booked for our day in port. Island Wings booked the trip for me and I sent the deposit to them, but Mountain Air Service operate the plane. The company is basically him, his wife, and a guy who does the transport from the cruise ships to the dock.

 

Randy did a fantastic job and the flight was incredible. I highly recommend going with him. From what I can tell, he does a very similar flight to Island Wings, landing on a lake and taking you inland a bit to look at nature and take photos. Randy is from Ketchikan and has lots of interesting local information about the logging camps, weather, flora/fauna, etc. He also provides an amusing soundtrack for the flight. :) We were extremely happy with our trip and thought it was worth every penny. He also did a great job with the kids that were on our flight, if that's of interest to you.

 

Yep, thats my understanding too...yes, we were told that he is very good with kids and that is important to us as we have a 8 and a 4 year old. Good to know you guys had a fantastic time with him.

[Damikaan]

We just got back from Alaska where we did the seaplane through Family Air Tours. We had a water landing and were able to get out and walk around on land. My son asked questions on how someone would survive if they were alone there and Dave, the pilot, showed him what things were edible and what would make you sick. I had asked about bear sightings so Dave did a search and when he spotted some bears he circled around and did a 2nd water landing so we could get a closer view of the momma bear and cub. He was a great pilot and went out of his way to give us a great tour. The plane was small but was a very smooth ride. They have a deal where you pay for 3 people and get the 4th person free. We had a great time and I highly recommend him.

[pompeii]

We did a trip with Michelle on Island Wings on our 5/25 cruise on the Star. It was fine, but not as great as I had hoped it would be. I think I was mostly disappointed with where she landed. It was at a wooden dock on a lake, so we just walked around on the floating dock and not on land anywhere. The lake was kind of pretty but not all that scenic, really. I had seen photos on her website of landing where you could walk around on land, so I found our landing a bit boring. Our weather was decent, misty and cool but not raining. We didn't see much wildlife, either. I think one bald eagle and that was it.

 

It was well run however and Michelle was very professional. I think part of it is that she does four 2-hour trips a day, so she has to keep to a strict schedule.

 

Anyway, like I said, it was fine but a little bit of a letdown. A couple of fellow passengers felt the same way. My husband liked it a lot, though.

[G0AT]

See my review of my Island Wings experience here.

[frugaltravel]

In reality, many independent companies mentioned on CC are probably overrated. They become the "favorites" of regular posters here. Some posters on CC seem to deify some of the posters here and hang onto their every word - even putting their screen names in the Title line. Operators know the power of the internet - that is why info on CC and Trip Advisor seem to be so influential, for better or worse.

 

Also what is 'better' or 'best' is very relative and subjective. So what bearbait might think is 'better' or 'best' certainly won't be what someone else might think is 'better' or 'best.'

[Rootball]

Had a wonderful 2 hour tour with Michelle and Island Wings. Pickup from the dock was easy and a short ride to her float plane. It was a gorgeous DeHaviland Beaver that looks as good as it flies.

 

Our trip to Misty Fjord was scenic and smooth and Michelle pointed out lots of sights on the way. We saw a few bald eagles in their nests both on the way out and back. We landed on the lake and walked around on land, looking mostly at some logs that the beavers had gnawed down. Took a different path on the return.

 

It was a rainy day but that had no effect on our flight. We were able to see deep into the fjord and thought Michelle was a very good, courteous and skillful pilot.