Universal Helicopters was a commercial helicopter company located in

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, Canada. While operating primarily in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

and

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

with operations sometimes extending into the

Ungava Peninsula The Ungava Peninsula of Nunavik, Quebec, Canada, is bounded by Hudson Bay to the west, Hudson Strait to the north, and Ungava Bay to the east. This peninsula is part of the Labrador Peninsula, and covers about . Its northernmost point is Cape W ...

and the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

, Universal Helicopters held an International

Operating Certificate Operating certificate is a category of license issued by a government agency allowing an individual or company to provide a controlled type of service. These certificates are generally issued for a limited time period. Certificates can have in ...

and completed several contracts in

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

History

The company started operations in 1963 and was a subsidiary of

Okanagan Helicopters CHC Helicopter is a Texas-based helicopter services company. CHC Helicopter maintains it global headquarters in Irving, Texas and operates more than 250 aircraft in 30 countries around the world. CHC's major international operating units are b ...

. It was last owned by a partnership of companies formed by Nunatsiavut Group of Companies, Tasiujatsoak Trust and

CAPE Fund A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

. On September 10, 2018 the company announced it had finalized the purchase of Lakelse Air, as part of plan to double their revenue. Based in Northwest British Columbia, Lakelse Air had been seen as a strategic purchase to build and strengthen Indigenous relations across Canada for future job prospects. Shortly after acquiring Lakelse Air, Universal Helicopters began shifting its focus to work internationally and overseas. Pushing for Global growth along with their September 6, 2018 investment in

South Coast Helicopters South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

proved to be unsustainable, leading to their eventual financial difficulty. The company announced its sudden closure due to financial insolvency on May 27, 2020.

Bases

Universal Helicopters corporate head office, main stores and accounting services were situated in

Goose Bay, Labrador Happy Valley-Goose Bay (Inuit: ''Vâli'') is a town in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Located in the central part of Labrador on the coast of Lake Melville and the Churchill River, Happy Valley-Goose Bay is the largest popul ...

with other bases situated at St. John's,

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

and Gander. Each location had permanent base personnel and hangar support facilities for year-round operations and maintenance.

Fleet

Universal Helicopters had the following aircraft registered with

Transport Canada Transport Canada (french: Transports Canada) is the department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of road, rail, marine and air transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportati ...

:Profile
/ref> The Transport Canada list also shows that they once had a

Bell 407 The Bell 407 is a four-blade, single-engine, civil utility helicopter. A derivative of the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger, the 407 uses the four-blade, soft-in-plane design rotor with composite hub developed for the United States Army's OH-58D Kiowa Wa ...

.Canadian Civil Aircraft Register: Aircraft Details C-FMEL
/ref>

Customer reception

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador had had extensive contracts with the company, using them for

medical evacuation Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to wounded being evacuated from a battlefield, to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of a ...

, clinic support, forest fire surveillance and suppression, aerial searching, survey and mapping and personnel transport.

References

External links