Is Hope Air an airline?
What information does Hope Air need to complete
my flight request?
When will I know if my request for travel
assistance has been approved by Hope Air?
I am a licensed, private pilot
interested in flying for Hope Air. How does Hope Air arrange
for access to its aircraft for private pilots?
Can Hope Air arrange for me to travel with
an escort (companion)? How may I request this?
My daughter needs to travel out of Canada
for a medical treatment. Can Hope Air help us?
I live in an isolated, rural community not
well covered by commercial air carriers. Does Hope Air have
a service that can help me travel to my medical appointment?
I traveled to the hospital for my medical
treatment via Hope Air and now the doctor has told me I
need to stay longer for additional treatment. My new discharge
date is after my return ticket date. What can I do?
What else do I need to know?
Is Hope Air an airline?
Hope Air is not an airline. Established in 1986, Hope Air
is a registered charity that arranges free flights for Canadians
in financial and medical need so that they can access required
medical care. Using donated seats, Hope Air arranges flights
on commercial and general aviation aircraft.
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What information does Hope Air need
to complete my flight request?
Flight requests are taken via the telephone by a member
of the Hope Air Team. In order to complete your request,
please have the following information available:
- Name of closest mid-size or major airport
- Name and contact information of referring
physician
- Name and contact information of treatment
physician
- Date and time of first and last appointment(s) at
treatment facility with treating physician(s)
- Name and contact information of medically
necessary escort
- Information about special medical requirement
(i.e. wheelchair at airport, oxygen during flight, etc.)
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When will
I know if my request for travel assistance has been approved
by Hope Air?
All flight requests are reviewed by Hope Air’s Flight
Manager on a daily basis. Should Hope Air not be able to
accommodate your request, the Flight Manager will endeavour
to contact you within 48 to 72 business hours of your request.
Hope Air’s Flight Manager will inform you of any change
in the status of your request. Automatic status up-dates
will also be provided via e-mail.
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I am a licensed, private pilot interested
in flying for Hope Air. How does Hope Air arrange for access
to its aircraft for private pilots?
Hope Air does not own any aircraft. All licensed, private
pilots interested in applying to become a Volunteer Pilot
through our Volunteer Pilot Program (VPP) are required to
either own their own aircraft or have the ability to rent
an aircraft from their local flying club. For more information
on the Volunteer Pilot Program, please contact Hope Air’s
VPP Coordinator at 1-877-346-4673 ex. 222.
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Can Hope Air arrange for me to travel
with an escort (companion)?
Hope Air recognizes the need for an escort (companion) to
provide physical and emotion support to a passenger traveling
for medical purposes. However, an escort can only be supported
by Hope Air if the referring physician and/or treating physician
deem that an escort is medically-necessary for the passenger
and Hope Air's available airline
seat inventory can accomdate the request for an escort.
For flight requests involving an escort, the requester must
provide Hope Air with the escort’s full name, address
and telephone number. Hope Air will confirm the medical
requirement with the referring and/or treating physician
and advise the patient of the outcome.
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My daughter needs to travel out of
Canada for a medical treatment. Can Hope Air help us?
All flight requests for medical treatments performed outside
of Canada are assessed on an individual basis. Please call
1-877-346-HOPE (4673) during regular business hours (9:00am
– 4:30pm EST) to speak with Hope Air’s Flight
Manager about your request.
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I live in an isolated, rural community
not well covered by commercial air carriers. Does Hope Air
have a service that can help me travel to my medical appointment?
Hope Air’s Volunteer Pilot Program (VPP) assists those
living in rural and remote communities especially. This
program utilizes private pilots flying smaller aircraft
to transport passengers into mid-size and large urban centres.
All Hope Air Volunteer Pilots are first reviewed by a Pilot
Review Committee before they can fly a mission on behalf
of Hope Air. For more information about this program, contact
the Volunteer Pilot Program Coordinator at 1-877-346-4673
ex. 222.
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I traveled to the hospital for my
medical treatment via Hope Air and now the doctor has told
me I need to stay longer for additional treatment. My new
discharge date is after my return ticket date. What can
I do?
You must contact Hope Air at 1-877-346-HOPE (4673) and advise
us of the change in your return date immediately. Hope Air
prefers to have 48 hours notice for all ticket changes,
where possible. For medical-related flight changes, the
passenger is not charged any additional fee to have the
ticket re-issued. All non-medical-related flight changes
are subject to additional fees as deemed by the airline
carrier.
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What else do I need to know?
Hope Air enjoys a high success rate in satisfying requests.
Nevertheless, we urge passengers to have an alternative
travel plan, in the event that Hope Air is unable to arrange
their flights, or those flights are cancelled due to weather
or other circumstances. It is important to call Hope Air
immediately if you must alter your travel arrangements.
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