K Bay Air Offering Top Notch Scheduled Service to Seldovia

Dylan & Scott with KBay Air

We had the pleasure to host Scott and Dylan from K Bay Air at our local chamber meeting this month.  It was a great success!  Not just because they provided lunch!  They purchased the food from our local businesses, and both Scott and Dylan were eager to let us know that they look forward to serving our community in a concrete and cooperative way!   I asked Scott Jackson, who is the General Manager for K Bay Air a few questions to introduce himself, the team and the business to Seldovians who were not present at our meeting!

1) Scott, tell us a little about you and how you came to K Bay Air!

My wife and I moved to Homer in 1994.  I went to work for Homer Air as an aircraft mechanic and soon became their Director of Maintenance.  A few years later, I went online as one of their pilots.  10 years later, we rented out our place in Homer and moved outside so I could pursue an advanced degree in Business and Marketing, and gain senior management experience and Captain flying corporate jet aircraft.  However, our hearts and minds were always looking back towards Alaska and thinking about our wonderful friends in Homer and across Kachemak Bay.  We moved back in June and when the opportunity arose to lead K Bay Air (bay operations), I knew this was the perfect job for me.  It brings together 20+ years of experience in aviation, business, and marketing.

2) What do you feel K Bay Air brings to the residents and visitors of Seldovia?

Seldovia has so much to offer its residents and visitors.  While we are a transportation company at our core, our desired business is really to be a partner with the people who live and work in Seldovia.  We are pulling together an extraordinary plan to boost the economy in Seldovia.  This plan ties in with our sister company Alaska Bear Adventures, one of Alaska’s most successful bear viewing companies.  We will be offering overnight packages in Seldovia to literally 2,800 plus visitors that contact us annually.

3) What does your schedule look like through the winter?  I see departures at 9:45am, 11:50am, 2:50 and 4:50 daily – but is there a chance flights might do a quick return to Homer and leave Seldovia earlier?

The benefit of K Bay Air rests with our ability to be consistent yet flexible.  Every customer that calls can be assured that our dispatchers and pilots will work hard to pull together a flight that fits their needs.  As our company grows, we anticipate that airplanes and pilots will be assigned solely to Seldovia.  This will offer the best flexibility for “quick turn” flights.

4) Your current rates are $62 OW and $124 RT, and you are also offering 55 pounds of freight free per passenger, but what is the per pound cost for freight?  Are there any other specials offering right now?

If you follow us on Facebook or keep an eye on our website, you might notice that we enjoy mixing things up a bit.  You can count on a steady stream of innovative ideas from K Bay and even a few game changers from time-to-time.   We have our customer loyalty program known as the K PAX 5.  Essentially, purchase five RT tickets and the 6^th is free.  In November, we will be offering a FREE round trip ticket to Homer via an “in Seldovia” drawing.  Keep an eye on Seldovia Chatter Box Facebook page for details.  Our Freight Rate (exclusively for Seldovia) for anything over 55 lbs. is 0.39 lb.  However, for businesses that fly large volumes regularly, we work on an individual basis to give them the best rate.

5) Can you introduce us to your pilots?

Experienced pilots are the key to safety and to our success.  Through many years of beach landing/bear viewing operations, we have become very proficient at finding the right pilots and training them to fly in some of the most challenging conditions in Alaska.  Dylan Skirko and I will be your primary pilots and we have a couple of our seasoned bear/summer pilots that flew the bay last year that will fill in on an “as needed” basis.  Our goal is to provide our passengers with trusted and familiar faces at the helm.

6) Can you tell us about your planes?

Currently, we fly all Cessna 206 aircraft.  These airplanes have a proven record in bush Alaska and have an extraordinary dispatch reliability rate.  They can carry heavy loads in and out of the villages, and have reasonable operating costs.  Most aircraft that operate in this environment quickly take on the “tired workhorse” look due to the frequency of flights, and loading and unloading.  I have heard many comments from our customers that they appreciate the time, money, and effort that we spend on keeping our aircraft in top condition.

7) We so enjoyed having you at our meeting – and welcome as a new member!  You spoke a bit about how you are looking forward to working with current Seldovia businesses to bring in new business to Seldovia, can you tell us about that?   Can folks connect with you directly if they are interested in being a part of what you are putting together for your guests for summer 2018?

A couple of weeks ago, the K BAY Air team put together a long-awaited hamburger/hot dog cookout across the bay and during our time there, we had some great discussions with folks on how to improve our service. One idea that came up was having a local phone number that is simple to remember and easy to dial. Here it is!  907-235-8787   If you have suggestions, the K Bay Air staff will work hard to implement them.

Yes….. I encourage anyone in Seldovia that offers lodging, meals, charters, tours, entertainment, and other visitor related activities to contact us (907-235-8787) to see if they might be a part of our Seldovia Visitor’s package.  I will be spending a lot of time in Seldovia meeting with business owners and putting together the calendars, and marketing programs that will drive the success for the upcoming season.  We are already booking Bear trips for 2018, so we will be working very quickly to pull this all together.

K Bay Air is dedicated to partnering with people and businesses in Seldovia. That being said, we are excited to be a part of the famous Linwood Bar and Grill Halloween Party on October 28th. K Bay and the Linwood are offering one FREE seat/round trip ticket for the winner of the “Best Couples Costume”. Judging begins at 10:00 pm. Good luck to everyone and have a great time!

8) Anything else you would like to relay to the community of Seldovia?

K Bay’s company motto is “Serving Extraordinary People Everyday”.  Our love for the people across Kachemak Bay is what motivates us to work hard to go above and beyond.  As mentioned in the Chamber of Commerce meeting, we are dedicated to listening to your feedback and making necessary changes quickly to offer the best service possible.  We know the economic and geographical challenges that you face living in an amazing place like Seldovia and hope that you will allow us to partner with you in your daily lives and businesses.