Daniel Sitnam

Born in London, England on May 23, 1956, to parents Elmo and Rosanna, Danny Sitnam was the third of his parents’ four children. In 1957, the family moved to Brazil when Danny’s father, a civil/aeronautical systems engineer working for Lockheed, was posted to a special project in South America. After the family moved to Canada in 1963, Danny was working as a cook in a North Vancouver restaurant when offered a flight that changed his career path.

He had trained as a machinist, but a free flight in a helicopter had a profound influence on his life. Later, he responded to a newspaper advertisement soliciting six investors for a small three-seater piston-engined Hiller 12E helicopter. Investors would be taught to fly it. Danny invested, learned to fly it at Mayo Helicopters in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, and earned his commercial licence in May 1977. He landed his first job as a pilot within days and a week later ferried a Hiller 12E to Mayo, Yukon, where he went to work for Mayo Helicopters.

While flying light and medium size helicopters in the Yukon, Alberta and northern British Columbia, Danny developed the idea of a scheduled helicopter service between Vancouver and Victoria. Backed by partners and investors, the company founded by Sitman and Alistair MacLennan began as Helijet Airways in 1986 with a single Bell 412 helicopter and a staff of 14. Based at Vancouver International Airport, and now called Helijet International Inc. and branded as Helijet, the company is the world’s largest scheduled passenger helicopter airline.

As of 2017, Helijet operates 16 helicopters, two fixed wing aircraft, has 160 employees and transports more than 80,000 passengers per year. As President and CEO of Helijet and its wholly owned subsidiary, Pacific Heliport Services Ltd., Danny still maintains his Commercial Helicopter Licence. Pacific Heliport Services operates and manages heliports in Victoria, Vancouver, and Nanaimo.  It offers landing, parking, and fueling service as well as passenger lounge services in those locations.

In addition to some 300 weekly scheduled flights to Vancouver, Victoria, and Nanaimo, Sitnam’s company operates from bases in Vancouver, Victoria, Richmond, Nanaimo, Prince Rupert and Sandspit, Haida Gwaii, carrying passengers on the British Columbia coast for business and pleasure in year-round charter service.

Helmet also offers charter flights and is the largest air medical service provider in British Columbia. Since 1998, Helijet has been contracted to provide helicopter transport for the British Columbia Ambulance Service using Sikorsky S-76 helicopters. They are on standby twenty-four hours daily and are configured to accommodate two stretcher patients and four medical attendants. In addition to helicopters operated by the company, its turbojet Learjet 31A and Hawker 800A are available for air medical and corporate charters from the Richmond base. Those aircraft can accommodate up to two stretcher patients and three medical attendants.

Helmet’s twelve-seat Sikorsky S-76 helicopters flying from Vancouver, Victoria and Nanaimo are certified to fly under instrument flight rules (IFR), while seaplanes competing for the service are certified only for visual flight rules (VFR) on those flights. Thus, odd as it may seem, poor weather is good for Helijet business with its helicopters able to offer IFR service when competitive air service is grounded. Even when alternative passenger ferry service is suspended during rough seas, Helijet service continues.

Both Helijet and its founder have been recognized with awards. In 1994, less than 10 years after its formation, Helijet was awarded the Community Service Award from the Helicopter Association International. Danny himself received the Robert S. Day Trophy in 2000 from the British Columbia Aviation Council (BCAC) in recognition of outstanding contribution and leadership for the promotion and development of aviation in British Columbia. In 2015 the BCAC gave its Environmental Award in Aviation to Helijet in recognition of “environmental initiative, program or accomplishment in one or more areas of protection, rejuvenation, conservation and awareness.” In 2016, Danny received the BCAC Lifetime Achievement Award.

The wide respect held for Danny Sitnam and his company is reflected in a statement from the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade. The President and CEO, Iain Black, has stated,

“As a British Columbia success story, Danny and his firm, Helijet International, are names that have become synonymous with entrepreneurial success, aviation reliability, professionalism and the sort of customer service commitment that has driven this 30-year-old firm from day one and its very first flight. By any measure, it is a national and international leader, thanks to Danny’s enthusiasm and creativity.”

Helijet’s support of community, charitable and aviation interests and its high value on training and support of personnel in the aviation industry was seen in establishment of a new bursary program in 2016. The company established the Helijet International Bursary Award to be administered through the British Columbia Aviation Council. The five-year program will award $3,500 each year to mid-career candidates completing helicopter IFR training and to support AME Certification Training in assisting individuals to upgrade skills for both service and safety of benefit to passengers.

Besides the support of charitable and non-profit organizations, Danny Sitnam is known for contributions to the aviation industry through his leadership in providing support for new employees and a work environment that enables them to develop their skills and flourish in their fields. He has provided employment opportunities that provide for training, and the chance to take on responsibility for their positions. Helijet emphasizes its core values of safety, customer service, mutual respect, trust, and professionalism. Sitnam is highly regarded by both present and past employees, and for promoting and providing opportunities for women entering the aviation industry.

One former female pilot who left after several years to pursue other opportunities has stated that,

“I felt as though I was leaving behind a family at Helijet. I walked into Danny’s office with tears in my eyes to thank him for all the support and opportunities over the years. Even though I was leaving, he still offered open arms and support for my new endeavours. I am one of many who got their start at Helijet and believe each one of us has developed a special bond with him, so genuinely approachable and caring as Danny has been over the years.”

Ken Glaze, the retired vice-president of Safety and Business Development for Helijet International Inc., has written that,

“Danny has always led by example, extending the greatest respect to everyone, jumping in to perform or assist with any task that needed doing; consistently holding people and families on par with the company’s interests. Danny has inspired and maintained the faith and confidence of his board of directors, shareholders, management and employees.”

Danny Sitnam is well respected in the aviation community, by the Vancouver Board of Trade, and his leadership in helicopter operations is recognized world-wide. He and his wife, Laura, reside in West Vancouver and are the parents of daughter Corra-Rose and son Owen.