Moving Lower 48 -> Cold Bay, AK Charter? Can a King Air do it?

exneophyte

Well-Known Member
Would any charter companies fly my family and I from the lower 48 to Cold Bay, AK mission-profile wise? Runway 14/32 is 10,415 ft long and Runway 8/26 is 6235 ft long so distance shouldn't be an issue for most aircraft. From what I can tell, Seattle to Cold Bay is about 1561 miles with most of it over water. What kind of aircraft should I look for in my charter companies that would fit the mission profile? I'm not terribly restricted from the departure airport as I'll be driving us and our stuff from the midwest to the west coast to minimize the required flying distance and therefore the flight cost. From what I can see, I'm basically looking at charter companies with King Air's and more specifically probably the 300/350 based on the mileage with a little breathing room in case the winds aren't favoring us. The 200's could probably get there, but there isn't much margin if the winds get adversarial. Am I going in the right direction in terms of aircraft choice? Are there others I should be looking into?

Details(if interested): Myself, my wife, my two cats and dog may be relocating to Cold Bay, AK from Minneapolis because of a job opportunity for her. I've been thinking about the best way to get us, our pets and our stuff there. Obviously, we will be minimizing what we transport and much of it will go via marine freight. I'm not wild about flying commercial with our animals from MSP -> ANC and then from ANC ->CDB. Even if we did go that route, we'd have to figure out how to ship stuff from MSP to a marine shipper and then ensure it got to Cold Bay.
 
There is no way in hell I would take a King Air across the Gulf of Alaska. Look at jets if that is what you want to do. Look at medium sized jets. They shouldnt have a problem with those runways.
 
Why wouldn't a KA350 work with good weather? There would need to be excellent decision making and I would want to be sure of the crew. You would have the ability to top weather with a jet. Not so much with the KA. The 350 is an appropriate aircraft however with fuel reserves being of utmost importance i wouldn't cut it close at all with the 200.

If I remember correctly it was a long trip in the Citation X. When i did ANC VNY we needed to plan for things because there were so few places to divert to. It is a rugged place and the fuel reserves are critical. This is important if you loose pressurization for example. Regardless, it would be a long trip. Just hire an experienced crew, keep your noise canceling headsets on and enjoy.

It seems like you are concerned with risk management. Have you considered the wilderness aspect of the trip? Wilderness being one hour or more from medical help.
 
Is she going to be a school teacher there? Alaska life is not for everyone, the speed that the towns go teachers, nurses, ect is pretty amazing. If she hasn't set foot there yet then I would recommend sending her ahead for a few weeks before you take the plunge.

Not trying to be a downer, just realistic. Sell your stuff until you get it down to a manageable size. Ferry it to ANC and send it via Everets or NAC. Alaska Airlines is a much better choice than a King Air, that water is cold.
 
This company giving you like 40k to move or something? Alaska airlines can do this for probably 15k cheaper.
 
Drive to Seattle an get on AK Air.. pretty sure your pets are not a endangered species, an Alaska moves iditerod sled dog teams so I think yours will be OK. Ship the car up on lynden/alaska marine lines. Or time the ferry out of Bellingham to catch the M/V Kennicott in Juneau for the cross gulf run out the chain. I am guessing by your planning style Cold Bay is going to be a good fit. Oh ya.. get some Xtra-Tuffs, learn how to read a marine forecast an I hope you like wind an rain. (That hurricane Issac thing would only rate a storm warning up here).
 
Also +1 to the Alaska ferry.

Be ready for some major culture shock...it wasn't bad for my wife and I but we moved to relative civilization. Cold Bay is the middle of freaking nowhere.
 
Thanks for all of the information everybody. We are very aware of the huge culture change that we will encounter. I've actually spent some time in that part of Alaska so I know what I'm getting into.

I was afraid that the long distance over the water would be an issue which is why I asked.
 
Our MT based charter company has done it in a King 100. Id figure on one fuel stop if leaving from MT. Not sure what a 350's range is though.
 
Our MT based charter company has done it in a King 100. Id figure on one fuel stop if leaving from MT. Not sure what a 350's range is though.

About 1200 NMs. You want to be shooting an approach in 4.5 hours. It would take at least one stop in a 350 unless it was one of the ERs.

Not sure this would help for getting freight there but Ameriflight used fly up to Alaska to bring back Geoducks. I believe the planes go up empty. You might be able to get some freight on cheap.
 
About 1200 NMs. You want to be shooting an approach in 4.5 hours. It would take at least one stop in a 350 unless it was one of the ERs.

Not sure this would help for getting freight there but Ameriflight used fly up to Alaska to bring back Geoducks. I believe the planes go up empty. You might be able to get some freight on cheap.
I'll look into that. Thanks for the information. I wonder if they'd let me call the pets freight and have a jumpseat for me to fly in. I just want to make the animals as comfortable as possible. The logistics are up to me and there is no reason that my wife has to fly up with us.
 
Why do you want to charter flights, when this stuff is already done via scheduled service for significantly less?
 
Why do you want to charter flights, when this stuff is already done via scheduled service for significantly less?

+1

I don't know how much your wife will be making up there but to spend 12k (estimate based on a B350) to charter a plane to get there might eat a big chunk of that. Now if UPS wanted to move there, it would be worth it, otherwise I don't think so.
 
Back
Top