QuikAir is trying to avoid a quick exit.

The Edmonton-based airline, which faces a July 31 deadline from Edmonton Airports to end its scheduled 10-seat passenger flight service to Calgary from the city's downtown City Centre Airport, is examining its options in order to be able to keep flying.

The company is now looking at replacing its 120 weekday flights between City Centre and Calgary with a helicopter service between the two cities.

The twin engine Bell 430 helicopter, which seats 11 and has a maximum cruising speed of 265 km/h, would take about the same amount of time between cities, company officials say.

QuikAir is now examining options that include either leasing or buying four of the copters.

"The elapsed flying time would be almost the same," says Doug MacPherson, QuikAir's vice-president of operations. "Our airplane flies it in 50 minutes and taxies for about 10 minutes. Our helicopter would take an hour flying time, but the taxi time would be zero."

The plan, which is still in the process of being finalized and needs financing before it can take off, would see QuikAir leave Edmonton Airports and the City Centre facility behind. Instead, it would locate to private property near the airport, transforming the land into a helipad and adding the required infrastructure. The company has already talked to Transport Canada about the service.

In Calgary, though, flights would still land at Calgary International Airport. "They are absolutely superb to deal with," MacPherson says of the Calgary Airport Authority.

In Edmonton, QuikAir has been caught in a controversy involving consolidating passenger service at Edmonton International Airport.

Edmonton Airports says losing passengers from Edmonton International tilts route network economics in favour of direct services to Calgary. Last year, in making a decision to end scheduled southern passenger service from City Centre while maintaining similar flights to the north, the authority said it came up with "a delicate balance that will serve the needs of the north while protecting quality air services for the capital region."

MacPherson says he still doesn't understand how QuikAir can cause so much damage.

"It's kind of difficult to believe that here we are running four little 10-seat airplanes, and we're the root of all evil for Edmonton Airports."

Talks with Edmonton Airports to come up with a solution workable to both parties have not been successful, adds MacPherson.

In a letter circulated to QuikAir passengers earlier this year, outlining the possibility of switching to a helicopter service, the airline said: "We paid Edmonton Airports over $300,000 in user and landing fees in 2004, yet they continue to view us as an enemy, not as a valuable asset to the business community."

MacPherson did say that Edmonton Airports is willing to waive some landing fees and make other concessions should the airline switch to the International, but he notes those incentives are not sufficient.

He adds QuikAir would face an uphill battle flying 10-seaters out of the International on the same routes served by WestJet and Air Canada. QuikAir's edge, he says, is being able to fly directly into downtown Edmonton, bypassing a 30- to 40-minute commute to or from the International.

An Edmonton Airports official says they understood there would be difficulties in trying to come up with a solution for all of City Centre's interested parties.

"We realized there was no perfect solution that would please every stakeholder," says Edmonton Airports spokeswoman Traci Bednard. "We listened to every stakeholder, but ultimately we had to make a decision in the best interests of air service in the region."

That's why, adds Bednard, the airport authority gave passenger airlines at City Centre a year before the changes would take effect.

The delay also meant Edmonton Airports would have time to work with airlines to come up with solutions.

"It is also important for Edmonton Airports to do whatever we can to support any businesses, like QuikAir, that might be affected," says Bednard. "We ... will continue to talk to QuikAir if they have an interest in operating out of the International."

 Meanwhile, airline analyst Rick Erickson, managing director of the Calgary-based R.P. Erickson and Associates, is intrigued by QuikAir's potential strategy.

"My original thought is, 'Wow,' " says Erickson. "I do think it is novel ... and I do give them full credit for an innovative effort."

But Erickson says he also has some concerns.

"If they are able to pull this off, it improves the overall quality of service from downtown to downtown," he says. "The drawback is the cost. Helicopters are very expensive to operate."

Generally, says Erickson, helicopter service is found in very large urban centres such as London or New York.

It could also mean that fares will be higher than what QuikAir charges now, and that could pose a problem, he adds.

But he does note that the service could be even more useful if QuikAir is able to find a way to land on buildings in either city's downtown core, bypassing the need to drive to and from an airport - no matter how close it may be to downtown.

While MacPherson is hopeful the new plan will fly, QuikAir is also studying other possibilities, which he wouldn't reveal.

A last resort, though, would be to shut down by the end of June.

Even though QuikAir can still fly in and out of City Centre until July 31, MacPherson says demand drops off in July and August for the airline's main market of business travellers.

(Laura Severs can be reached at laura@businessedge.ca)