Aircare Solutions Group of Olympia, Wash. announced the launch of AircarePlus, a new safety recognition program for charter companies, and a new tool for the advanced in-flight assessment of passenger and crew medical needs.
“We have charter companies that are constantly investing their hard-earned profit into crewmember emergency procedures training and 24/7 worldwide tele-medical services with us, when the regulations don’t state that they have to,” said Jeffrey Roberts, Aircare CEO. “We want to create a program that makes the charter consumer aware that these companies are exceptional.”
AircarePlus status is achieved when an entire charter aircraft crew holds current training certificates from Aircare Facts for emergency procedures training, and the aircraft has Aircare Access Assistance 24/7 tele-medical services available to passengers. Wyvern Consulting has endorsed the program and announced a partnership to develop a data exchange with Aircare for pilot and flight-attendant records. “This partnership is a natural collaboration as Wyvern systems are designed to provide real-time validation of an operator’s fleet and crew information,” said Brent Moldowan, Wyvern managing director.
Charter operators already achieving AircarePlus status include Galvin Flying, M&N Aviation and Priester Aviation. “With all of the rating [systems] available to show that we meet certain requirements and standards, it’s wonderful now to have a method of showing our customers that we actually exceed the requirements in areas of passenger safety,” said Andy Priester, president of Wheeling, Ill.-based Priester Aviation.
For in-flight medical needs, the new self-contained Aircare RVS (remote viewing station) lets an emergency-room physician see and hear a patient and caregiver in flight or in a remote location. The RVS, priced at $16,000, includes a mini-laptop, high-resolution camera, speakerphone and several medical diagnostic tools. MGM Resorts in Las Vegas recently outfitted its new Gulfstream G550 with an Aircare RVS. “Aircare Access gives us the ability to bring the doctor to the patient in the air or on the ground, and gives our executives and security staff a specialized tool to talk, video conference and send data securely, even in the remotest and least secure areas of the world,” said Bon Conley, MGM Resorts director of aviation.
