| Airborne Solutions Wins Brolga! |
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A KATHERINE based helicopter tourism service has won the Tour and Transport Operator category in the 2008 Brolga NT Tourism Awards announced on Saturday. Airborne Solutions carry out helicopter services for Nitmiluk Tours and have operations in Darwin and Kakadu. General Manger Clinton Brisk said receiving the awards was a “fantastic result for us”. Minister for Tourism Kon Vatskalis said tourism was a key part of the Territory’s economy and employed 12 percent of Territorians. “The Brolga Awards is the night of nights for the Northern Territory tourism industry. It is a pleasure to recognise the professionals who make it their business to encourage visitors to share our story,” he said. In the Territory for 23 years, Mr Brisk said the businesses was always working on their operations and continually improving them. “We’re really happy to have won this local award,” he said. He said the nine-employee strong team had been focusing on providing strong safety and good service and had been working towards the Brolga awards for a few years now. Airborne Solutions won the Business Development Award last year and so Mr Brisk said while the Brolga Award wasn’t a total surprise, “it was certainly appreciated”.
“They really have been very good and the Nitmiluk Board have been fantastic to work with to develop our product as it is today.” Airborne Solutions have developed an environmental plan and also cross cultural courses to continue to meet high standards. He said apart from balloons, they were the only ones to be able to land in National Parks. With the help of funding from the Territory Government and MacArthur River Mines, they now have an Indigenous pilot on their team, Richard Baker, a former Parks and Wildlife Ranger. Airborne Solutions has recently opened up Darwin Helicopter Tours and run Kakadu Helicopter Safaris. At the higher end of the helicopter market, the business runs trips from Darwin across to the Kimberleys, which are proving popular with the international market. They encourage customer feedback and also welcome external audits. “We have a great team of people. The key to the whole thing has been the enthusiasm and tenacity of the staff we have.” Mr Brisk said Operations and Business Development Manager Ben Surawski played a key role in lobbying for support. Chief pilot Darrine Smith and Nitmiluk based Manager Darren Fitzpatrick were also important in the business’s success. Mr Brisk also thanked Administration Manager Leanne Bell and John O’Brien who “together have done a fantastic job in this office”. Future projects for the business include NT Heli Rescue which with support from St John’s Ambulance will be able to offer a medical rescue service for people in the Top End with their new twin engine helicopter. Airborne Solutions will go on to compete at the Australian Tourism Awards in Melbourne next February. |
He said they had a “great working partnership with Nitmiluk Tours and it’s really a combination of Parks and Wildlife, Nitmiluk and ourselves for us to operate in the correct way at the gorge.”