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Burke named President of Blackcomb Helicopters

Jonathan Burke has been appointed as Blackcomb Helicopters’ new President and Accountable Executive. An advisor and former executive with Blackcomb, Burke will be rejoining Blackcomb’s team in British Columbia and Alberta.

He will oversee the company’s operations in addition to driving Blackcomb’s growth in the utility and energy sector together with an expanded offering in backcountry tourism and advanced flight operations.

Burke brings more than 30 years of experience to his new role and is a commercial helicopter pilot with an Airline Transport Pilot rating. In addition to his aviation credentials, Burke has an MBA from Athabasca University with post-graduate studies at the Wharton School and Stanford.

“Our entire team is thrilled to have Jonathan back with us once again as our President and Accountable Executive,” said Jason McLean Blackcomb Helicopters Chair and McLean Group CEO. “Jonathan has unparalleled strategic insight and a depth of industry experience, in addition to operating with our shared values of safety, sustainability and doing things right.”

Blackcomb Helicopters over the past few years has expanded its services in tourism, utility, search-and-rescue, and aerial firefighting. (Photo: Blackcomb Helicopters)

Blackcomb Helicopters in recent years has significantly grown its tourism operations with the acquisition of Tyax Adventures and the creation of AlpX Expeditions, a dedicated backcountry tourism operation. Blackcomb’s year-around offerings include heli-skiing, heli-hiking, weddings, picnics and touring, in addition to a special-built alpine trail network that is exclusively accessible by helicopter.

Blackcomb also points to its robust utility, search-and-rescue, and firefighting capabilities as being significantly expanded with the 2021 acquisition of Elbow River Helicopters, based in Springbank, Alberta.