What Sets Us Apart
The best pilots, the best guides, the best aircraft and a perfect safety record since 1991. Emerald Air Service flies guests from Homer, Alaska to see the brown bears of Katmai National Park, and we built every part of the operation ourselves: our own maintenance crew, our own fuel system, our own base on Beluga Lake. Most guests do not know what separates one operator from another. This page shows you. Ask every operator about each point, then call us at 907-235-4160 with any questions.
Five Hours on the Ground
Five hours on the ground, every trip. Most operators give you three. If you are going to do this once, do it right. More time with the bears, more photos, no regrets on the flight home.
A Perfect Safety Record
Since 1991, a perfect safety record flying the Katmai coast. That is the first thing to check when you pick an operator, and the one thing most of them will not put on their website.
Guides Who Live This
Ask any operator if their guides are Wilderness First Responders. Most are not. Every one of ours is, plus First Aid, CPR and the Katmai Bear Viewing Guide Excellence program. Every guide carries a full wilderness first aid kit, an inReach and a satellite phone on the beach with you, not left behind in the plane. Out there, over a hundred miles from the nearest hospital, that matters.
Our Own Maintenance Crew
Most operators call a mechanic when something breaks. Ours inspect every aircraft before it flies and again when it comes back, every day of the season. Full time crew, led by a Director of Maintenance with forty plus years as an FAA Inspection Authorized mechanic.
Turbine Otters and Beavers
Clean, comfortable, turbine powered Otters and Beavers, classic airframes with new engines, modern glass panel avionics and terrain and weather displays, and a window at every seat. Most operators hand you foam earplugs and let the engine do the talking. We hand you an aviation headset, and your pilot or guide talks you through the flight: Augustine Volcano, the Katmai coast, and the first bears on the beach below. The flight is part of the trip, not the price of getting there.
Pilots Who Know the Coast
Our pilots have 50,000 plus flight hours between them, most of it in Alaska floatplanes. They know every bay, tide line and weather pattern on the Katmai coast.
Fuel We Control
Ask any operator when they last tested their fuel. Most never have. It comes off the truck and goes straight into the airplane. We run our own dockside system, and every delivery is inspected and tested before a drop of it goes in an airplane. Daily checks for water and contamination, a full system inspection every month, and every flight leaves with reserves to handle a change in weather. When it is your fuel, you know exactly what is in the tank.
A Base Built for Guests
Our office sits on the shore of Beluga Lake in Homer, with dedicated guest parking, a gear room, and our own dock. You check in, gear up and walk down to the plane, all in one place.
Fitted Waders, Not Rubber Boots
On guided days we fit you with wader pants and wading boots, the same gear our guides wear. Every other Homer operator hands out hip boots: loose, cold, and never quite your size. Ours fit, keep you warm and dry, and let you walk the beaches and meadows in comfort all day. Forgot a rain jacket, gloves or a warm layer? Our gear room has you covered. We suit you up before you fly.
Honest Expectations
Every morning our pilots and guides compare notes: where the bears were yesterday and what the weather is doing. Then we pick the spot. They are wild animals, but a day without bears is something our guests just do not see.
The Little Things
Fresh cookies and coffee before and after your flight. Guides who share their long lens photos with you. A team that remembers your name. None of it is required. All of it is why guests come back.
When Weather Changes the Plan
Most cancellations happen because an operator has another trip waiting. We do not schedule that way. If weather moves in, we can hold, delay and still go, or open a flight on another day to get you out there. Our cancellation rate is very low for that reason. And if we cannot get you out during your stay, you get a full refund.