Hypothetical Royale Air Service/Ranger III Scenario

[Rafiki]

I hate relying on people, machines, or anything that can cause a delay in my plans. So here is my question. By the end of the season, I will have had the opportunity to travel on the Voyaguer, Ranger III, and Isle Queen IV. With that said, I woud love to give the Royale Air Service a try. However, from what I heard, the Royale Air Service can be a big pain in the rear with regards to reliabilty. Lets say I plan a trip next year. The first departure time that the Royale Air Service leaves at is 8am eastern. Let's say I get there for my departure at 8am and am told there is a delay due to weather. Do I have the right to say, you know what, since we can't leave at my scheduled time and since we are not sure when we are going to be leaving, I'd like to abort my flight plans and just mosey on over to the Ranger III which I know will be departing at 9am. Being that they cannot take off at my scheduled time, could I take such an action. Same applies for my return trip. If I'm waiting at Windigo or Rock Harbor for a pick up, am getting no information from any of the on duty Rangers as to where the plane is, can I say to hell with the plane and hop on the Ranger III or Isle Queen IV. The plane is obvious not my top choice from the available options based on its rumored track record, but I always like having backup plans. Let me know. Thanks.

[Ingo]

I don't think one can say that Royale Air Service is unreliable, but rather that weather is! And yes, the plane is more susceptible to weather than the boats. As with all things I.R., be flexible and the folks who get you there and back will do whatever they safely can given the situation.

[DonNewcomb]

If I'm waiting at Windigo or Rock Harbor for a pick up, am getting no information from any of the on duty Rangers as to where the plane is, can I say to hell with the plane and hop on the Ranger III or Isle Queen IV.

At least at RH it could be possible to use a cell phone to call the company and find out where the plane is. Assuming you have a phone that will do that.

[Gimp]

Three out of four flights I had with the air service were right on time. The one time I was delayed, the weather was so bad that the Queen didn't sail either. (Riding out a storm on Isle Royale was both frustrating due to a lack of information and very memorable / adventerous as soaked folks crammed into the shelters.) Take-off to landing was always less than 30 minutes on my trips. You have to weigh that advantage over the risk of weather delays. Keep in mind that if your hypothetical 8 a.m. flight is cancelled due to weather, you end up bumped to the next available flight seat. If it's clear by 9 a.m., the scheduled passengers for that flight have priority over you so you will sit tight on either end and wait for an available seat. From personal experience I can tell you that is frustrating. Somewhere in the fine print when you pay for the flight in advance they warn you about that. If you miss the 8 a.m. flight, you've already missed the Queen so you just have to sit it out. Now if you could some how call and get a seat on a boat, you will not get your payment for the flight reimbursed (read the fine print). I've taken the Queen over and back once, and the flight over and back twice. For many reasons I prefer the flight and am willing to take the risk. Royale Air Service does want to get you there so they will do it as soon as they can. Just remember, they aren't Delta Airlines with infinite aircraft and scheduling options. Weather experiences and Isle Royale go together like chocolate chips and cookie dough.

[Midwest Ed]

As stated earlier, it’s the weather that creates the unreliability for both the air and water transportation. But it is noteworthy that bad weather affects the two types of services quite differently or rather that different types of weather affects each service uniquely.

It’s high seas that will cause the boats to abort, but it is most frequently fog that will cause delays in air service. The fog usually clears such that there is only an hour or two (or three) delay, but high seas will many times cancel the boat trip for the day (and the odds of this is greater in the Fall). Sometimes the boat is just delayed.

Let’s just say you decide to cancel your flight out of Houghton airport and then somehow book with the Ranger III at the last minute (assuming you could get from the airport in Calumet to downtown Houghton in time). It’s highly probable that by time the Ranger completes its 6 hour journey, the fog will have lifted and you could have arrived at Tobin Harbor still hours ahead of the Ranger.

There are some days I’m sure that flights are canceled for the entire day due to high winds that also cancel one or more of the boats.

I’m not certain but I strongly suspect that since Royal Air Service is a Commercial Common Carrier then U.S. Department of Transportation consumer protection regulations apply. These regulations give fairly wide leeway to the individual airlines to let them set their own policies, especially for weather related issues. Royal Air has a refund/cancellation policy specifically stated on their website. I won't repeat it here on the chance I get it wrong. I very much doubt they would be offering refunds based on your (or anyones) definition of an unreasonable delay (most especially delays due to weather).

[Rafiki]

Thanks for the insight guys. Ya, I know the delays are mostly due to weather. However, I have read about a couple of experiences on here regarding people looking at clear skys and waiting two hours past there scheduled pick-up time at Windigo or Rock Harbor without being able to get any details from any of the Rangers. It very well could have been that the skys did not look pleasant in Houghton, but if that were the case, the posters of these threads on the forum did not make mention of the pilot telling them this.

Long story short, I had the idea of being scheduled at 8am for departure to the island to find out that you timeblock is not safe to travel in. 9am rolls around, but now someone else is scheduled so you have to wait. Well, what if someone is scheduled after that, or even after that. Now you do not get on the plane until 12pm. Oh, but wait, the skys are not looking clear again. Too much fog. Now your stuck for a little while longer. And you begin thinking to yourself, why didnt I just take the boat. I would have gotten there in nearly an equal amount of time and I would not have had to find a way to ship my fuel over to the island since the plane does not allow it on board.

The thing that really irritates me is that there is poor communication with the Ranger Station and the Royale Air Service. I can recall more that a couple of experiences spoken of on this note. If there is going to be a delay, can someone just let a Ranger know over on my side of the island. I had being left in limbo. The being left in limbo is what kills it for me. As long as I know what is going on, fine, no biggie. But if I were waiting for a pick up 2 hours past my scheduled time as I heard to be the case for someone last year, I would begin wondering if the plane is even coming on that day. And if its not, I would like to know. At least I could plan some sort of day hiking trip or something. Argh. Ya, just give me some communication when I'm giving an arm and a leg to go over on the plane.

[Gimp]

Regarding your last paragraph - that reminds me of my delay in August 2009. I sat for hours at the dock waiting and not knowing that the flight was fogged in at Houghton. Then the severe gale kicked in.

It was not the delay, but the lack of information from both the pilot and the gentleman who managed the lodge and was supposed to know what was going on. The Rangers were the responsible adults at Rock Harbor but had no information conduit to the air service. That's the flaw in the system. However, now I know more about how that all works and have decided to accept it. I still prefer the flight and it's a great view. I'm taking a canoe the next time I go so that option is out for me.