CSI Aviation has been conducting emergency response missions for over 30 years. Our dedicated staff is highly trained in program management and as a company we have the knowledge and resources to respond to any emergency situation worldwide. Another reason why CSI is the best choice is we are not limited to a particular geographic location. We have the resources and capability to find the right aircraft to get the job done.

Response Time

CSI operates 24/7/365 to ensure immediate response to any unexpected event. The moment a crisis situation arises we develop an evacuation plan and handle all the logistics specific to each customer. Our experienced staff is prepared for any emergency situation from gathering intel from authorities on site to preparing customer evacuation plans. CSI’s industry relationships and organic fleet of aircraft ensure that our customers have the right aircraft at the right time.

No Mission is Too Big

Emergency response missions can range from natural disasters, civil and political unrest, plant explosions and even hostage situations. CSI’s industry experience enables us to respond to any emergency worldwide on a moment’s notice. We can locate and deploy aircraft, operate daily flights, move equipment, and deliver urgent supplies and personnel. CSI also has the ability to provide medical and security personnel should the mission require it.

Customer Satisfaction

We provide emergency response services to government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, oil, energy, and gas companies as well as multi-national corporations. CSI develops and implements a customized emergency response plan for each customer before an emergency occurs. Our goal is to deliver a fast response with safe and reliable aircraft options when a crisis occurs. As a company we can provide our customers turn key services from pre-planning and logistical support, on-time flight services and real time flight following.

We at CSI Aviation has been arranging charter flights since 1979. In our nearly 40 years of service, we’ve become experts on a diverse mix of aviation services. However, we realize that while air charter is second nature to us, there’s still somewhat of a shroud of mystery surrounding the industry. With that being said, here are five things you might not know about air charter with CSI.

There’s No Such Thing as Too Big or Too Small

We currently own and operate four King Air twin-turboprop aircrafts: King Air C90, 200, 300 and 350 and a Beech 1900D. These aircraft have more than enough capabilities to execute flights across the country for any number of reasons. But if for some reason one of our aircraft can’t get the job done, we utilize our global network to find one that can.

Our access to an exceptionally large variety of aircraft worldwide includes commercial airliners, turboprops, light, midsize and heavy executive jets and even helicopters. As soon as you tell us how many people you need to transport, we get to work finding the perfect aircraft for your needs. Whether you’re coming to us as a solo traveler or are looking to transport a large group, we’ll take care of you.

People Charter More Often Than You Think

We understand that the perception surrounding air charter consists largely of images of the world’s elite traveling intercontinentally with champagne in their hands. And while that is, at times, the case – the truth is that people fly charter for a lot of reasons and probably more often than you think.

Business executives often call on us to get them from meeting to meeting so they can avoid long lines, cramped seats and a plane full of strangers making it difficult to focus on work. Large sports teams use us to get them to and from games and travelers working with especially tight time lines often look to us to get immediate service. Additionally, our medical flight services offer hospital-to-hospital patient transportation, organ transplant flights and more.

It’s Your Best Bet for Getting Exactly Where You Want to Go When You Want to Get There

People who have never flown charter are all too familiar with the routine for booking commercially: plan months ahead to find the right flight with the least connections at a time that hopefully works with your schedule and hope that the airport serviced by your airline is close to your actual destination. Choosing to fly charter, however, means simplifying the routine to three steps.

Choose your time: Rather than having to work around an airline’s schedule, CSI works around yours. You tell us exactly when you want to leave and we’ll make it happen. We can even arrange a flight on the day of travel.

Choose your airport: Many commercial airlines don’t have service to small, rural or hard to reach airports, but CSI does. So rather than an airline telling you where they’re going to take you, you tell us exactly where you want to go.

Choose your aircraft: Tell us how many people are traveling and we’ll find the right aircraft for you. When you fly charter, you make the guest list so you’re not traveling with a plane full of dozens of people… unless you want to be!

It’s Not Always Just People Being Transported

Over the years, we have transported countless people for a large variety of reasons. However, that’s not all that we move. Our air cargo service encompasses all types of cargo including large loads, transportation of time-sensitive shipments and HAZMAT cargo. We’ve also carried food and supplies for emergency situations and equipment and parts for in-field repairs. We have also been known to transport organs between hospitals for transplants!

We’re experts in our field – if you give us something to transport, we’ll find a way.

Charter Flights Are Often Faster than Commercial

If there’s one thing that we pride ourselves on, it’s our speed. Nearly every step in our process is designed to be quick and simple to save you as much time as possible. Starting from our fast and easy booking procedure to pre-screening to avoid long check-in and security lines, we do everything we can to make your experience less of a hassle. The convenience also extends after your flight, when your luggage is offloaded planeside, meaning you’re not stuck at baggage claim when you’re ready to get on with your travels. And because charter flights are often to smaller airports, getting in and out is much quicker than a large, busy airport.

We understand that time is money, so we do everything we can to save it for you.

As the rates of air charter travel continue to increase, we hope we’ve helped to clear up some of the mystery surrounding the industry.

Did you know that CSI has been performing medical flight services for nearly 10 years? We have successfully completed more than 400 missions of many varieties, but there is one type of mission that is especially meaningful to us when it comes to medical flights – organ and organ transplant patient transportation.

These missions, while critically important, are often very complex and require a large amount of planning and preparation. Here, we’ll answer some frequently asked questions you may have about organ transplant aviation services.

Because we offer two different types of movements for transplants, there are different processes.

For organ only transport, we are notified by the hospital or an OPO (Organ Procurement Organization) who provide us with: routing information, time for organ pickup, pickup location and delivery location. As soon as we get the information, we immediately jump into action and start the flight coordination.

For transplant patient transportation, it starts with a patient on the waiting list being notified directly from the hospital. From there, the patient notifies us and our flight operations team executes the flight.

What special accommodations do you make for transplant patients?

When we have a potential recipient for an organ transplant, we do a lot of preplanning to ensure both patient and CSI are prepared for the flight.

We make sure that we have a Plan A, B and C to cover every possibility.  The smallest detail can delay a flight and we do our best to be prepared. Something as simple as “how is the patient getting to the airport?” has multiple plans just in case Plan A falls through.

How often does CSI perform this specific type of medical flight service?

Simply put? Whenever we’re needed. We are a 24-hour medical flight services company so we are available 24/7/365. We are set up to provided immediate response to organ transplant movements on a moment’s notice and we are continuing to see more and more demand for this service.

Is air transportation for organ transplants common?

Yes, very common. Mostly because it’s impossible to predict when and where an organ will become available.  Often, they are located hundreds or even a thousand miles away –meaning air transportation is the most reliable way to ensure the organ and patient make it to where they need to be when time is critical.

What organs are most commonly transplanted?

Livers and kidneys are typically the most common organ transplants.

Is the urgency for these types of flights typically more extreme than other medical flights?

All medical flights are urgent, but with organs we’re often dealing with extreme time challenges.  For example, often the patient only has 4 hours to arrive at the transplant hospital from the time they are notified.  We handle the time sensitivity with a significant amount of preplanning, which reduces the patient stress and allows us to act quickly and efficiently.

How quickly can you have someone in the air and on their way?

CSI can launch an aircraft within an hour from the time we are notified.

Ultimately, organ transplants save many people all over the country every day and CSI Aviation is very fortunate to play a role in such an important and meaningful process. For more information on our medical flight services, click here.

CSI Aviation offers a wide variety of services from private air charter and medical flight services to coordinating fuel services and responding to emergency situations and medical evacuations. It takes an impressive team of people that are constantly working behind-the-scenes to keep the gears moving seamlessly for all of the different day-to-day operations happening at CSI. This is the first part of a blog series that will highlight the various departments at CSI.

This month, Senior Vice President – Flight Operations, Tommy Dunn, is giving you an inside look at what goes on in our Part 135 Department. This department has a critical job at CSI, as it is where we manage all flights executed with our own aircraft.

Q: What does it mean to be a certified FAA Part 135 Air Carrier? 
A: CSI provides air transportation of persons and property for compensation or hire, which requires a certificate from the FAA under the Part 135 Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs). As a Part 135 Certificate holder, CSI complies with a number of FAA requirements regarding areas such as flight operations, maintenance, safety and training.

Q: What is the role of the Part 135 Department at CSI Aviation? What does an average day look like? How many people are in the department?
A: CSI has been in business for over 38 years as an aviation management company. Several years ago, CSI decided to expand the operation and begin conducting aviation missions organically (using our own aircraft) under our own Part 135 Certificate. CSI chose the Beechcraft King Air aircraft as its platform of choice due to the versatility and requirements needed to perform the variety of missions. CSI conducts Medical Flight Services, executive travel, cargo, and medical organ transplant movements. Due to this expanded scope of missions, every day gives CSI an opportunity to serve our customers across the country. With the growing mission requirements, our team of over 40 personnel within the Flight Operations department which consists of medical staff (nurses and paramedics), maintenance staff and our safety department, all work hand in hand every day to get the job done.

Q: What kinds of problems can arise in your department and how can you solve them? 
A: Every mission can present challenges, whether it is coordinating ground ambulances for patient pick up, deviating courses due to weather, or synchronizing all the flight logistics to perform a last-minute flight – identifying crews, ground handling coordination and fuel, to name a few.

Q: How did obtaining the Part 135 certification change operations at CSI Aviation?
A: CSI has a long-lasting relationship with hundreds of aviation companies and operations worldwide. When CSI obtained our Part 135 certificate and began conducting missions, it allowed us to use all or our relationships in order to support our organic flights. We have greatly expanded our scope of services by allowing CSI to provide a more cost-effective option at times using our own aircraft for our numerous air charter requirements.

Q: What was it like to transition from managing flight programs to executing flight operations? 
A: It was extremely natural to transition to performing our own flight operations due to the skill sets, experience, and relationships that existed between CSI and the aviation community. We have a great staff that made this a seamless process. Having managed many aviation programs in the past we knew what we had to do and the process was already in place.

Q: Please share a recent achievement of the department – how was this accomplished?
A: CSI is now the proud certificate holder and approved carrier for the Department of Defense after successfully passing the Commercial Airlift Review Board (CARB) inspection.

There you have it – a glimpse into one of the many hardworking and important departments that make up CSI Aviation. We’re incredibly proud of the hard work that the Part 135 Department does for us. For more information, click here.

Stay tuned for future Q&A posts highlighting more departments at CSI Aviation.