BC Ferries Air

AllTheUnscheduledMaintenanceThatFits

Where'sDaveyVille

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Update: A couple of small corrections to the original post are noted at the bottom

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Remember that old slogan from BC Ferries that went something like this:

"Follow The Birds To Victoria."

Well, now you can fly with them.

Literally.

The birds, I mean.

One of BC's most-favoured spokesthingies has (part of) the story:

B.C. Ferries has run out of ships. Over the coming week, the corporation will take to the air to move people between Powell River and Comox.

A Pacific Coastal Airways aircraft has been chartered to ferry passengers stranded in the two coastal towns by the breakdown of the Queen of Burnaby, which is going to drydock for repairs to a propeller hub.

B.C. Ferries has flown passengers before, but it happens on "extremely rare" occasions, spokeswoman Deborah Marshall said.

The problem with the Queen of Burnaby occurred as many other vessels were in for regular refit, she said.

The North Island Princess, a much smaller vessel that normally runs between Powell River and Texada Island, will go into service between Powell River and Comox for two round trips each day, she said.

Those who need to get across the strait for medical needs will have priority on the flight. Any other seats will to go to others as long as they make reservations.

Those who fly will pay the regular B.C. Ferries fare....

So.

Who has the rest of the story?

Well, it sure as heck isn't the proMedia and/or their minions who refuse to even ask follow-up questions.

And the rest of the story is most certainly not found within the bright shiny 'reports' that were recently released from BC Ferries itself and the Ferry Commissioner.

But....

If you head on over to a couple of blogs, Tidal Station or On the Waterfront, you will learn that it appears that there is a whole lotta unscheduled maintenance going on in the wake of David Hahn's recent sell-off of 'surplus' ships.

In fact, it looks like maybe, just maybe, the remaining ships are being pulled out refit before repairs have actually been completed because the fleet was left so depleted by the ol' straightshooter with the golden parachute wings.

Here's the way former proMedia maritime beat writer Chris Montgomery put it earlier today over at 'On The Waterfront':

"...(W)ould you feel differently about this week’s ferry “problems” if you read a news story that said the Queen of Burnaby was being pulled from service, causing huge headaches for passenger and commercial traffic, to return for very expensive repairs to a part of the propulsion system* that should have been addressed during an $11-million refit just two months earlier?..."

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The good news is.....We're pretty sure that Pacific Coastal Airways has a much better 'hard landing' record than BC Ferries, which one of the straight-shooter's former fair-haired boys attempted to wave away not long ago.

The reasons the seagulls used to swirl about the stern of the ferries actually had very little to do with hitching a ride and/or getting into the slipstream....Instead, it was more about the garbage.

*Update: In an earlier version we had written 'steering' system rather than 'propulsion' system...Sorry about that...Has been corrected over at 'On The Waterfront' as well....We also thank on of our oldest blogging friends, BC Mary, for reminding us that the old BCF tagline was actually 'Follow the birds to Victoria'...I originally had it as 'Vancouver Island'...

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