Tok Air Service

[ndbuck09]

Totally agree hes a great pilot! His planes are phenomenal as well! I felt super safe flying with him and really had a great trip, just think the carrot of money may allow him to get a bit over-extended...but I'd go with him for Moose if it was in-line with other transporters in the area, just knowing the likelihood of extended periods waiting.

To my friend saying I shouldn't sit on my ass complaining about prices...I can assure you I do not Lol. I've spent 42 nights in a tent in 2019 and it'll be 43 and 44 in 10 degree weather this weekend. And I work a full time corporate job with normal vacation time and no fudging it.

 

[PA Hunter]

Spending some extra days in the field isnt going to make me upset i only have to look forward to the wife yelling at me upon my return home. If she only knew what the whole trip is costing me and my gear she would stroke out.

 

[NUGGET]

Spending some extra days in the field isnt going to make me upset i only have to look forward to the wife yelling at me upon my return home. If she only knew what the whole trip is costing me and my gear she would stroke out.

I think she would be more pissed if she found out you’re paying double the going rate. Good luck on your hunt! Hope you smoke a big one!

 

[AK Troutbum]

I don't know why this bothers me so much because it doesn't affect me whatsoever, but the more I think about it, the more it pisses me off. It's your money and you'll spend it how you see fit, but if it were me, I'd tell Zack to eat shit and I'd demand a full refund. Not that it matters much, because I imagine you're not flying too awfully far from Tok, but do you know roughly how far of a flight from Tok (time wise), you are going to be hunting? I think the going rate per hr. for a supercub up here is around $350. Obviously that rate fluctuates depending on where in the state you are flying, ie., the cost to fly in southcentral is cheaper than flying in the Brooks, but it's still not triple or quadruple, or whatever the price that 40 mile is charging. So, say the hourly supercub rate in Tok is $500 (which is probably an inflated guess), for a business to charge $8500/person would be the equivalent of taking a 4.25 hr. flight from Tok (figure one hour at $500/hr. x4). To put that into perspective, at the average speed of a supercub, (approximately 85mph), that would put you in a location about 360 air miles from Tok.

So again, my question is, approx. how far from Tok is Zack flying you?

 

[Clarktar]

Glad I have a spot with 40 Mile Air... Much cheaper and damn the service is incredible! Great people to work with, looking forward to taking my family this coming fall for moose and caribou. It was really nice getting picked up on our planned "out" date, getting to the main strip and seeing all the others who wanted out early have to wait for us to go first

I look forward to being adopted!!

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[VernAK]

I look forward to being adopted!!

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I would rather be forced into adultery than to be adopted be Nick Muche!

 

[Clarktar]

That is not a good endorsement. I will rethink my plan.

Kidding aside. I hope to relocate up north in the next 5 years. Have been asking Nick and others questions over the last few years. In general his opinions have been pretty fair in my view.

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[rainforest]

I don't know why this bothers me so much because it doesn't affect me whatsoever, but the more I think about it, the more it pisses me off. It's your money and you'll spend it how you see fit, but if it were me, I'd tell Zack to eat shit and I'd demand a full refund. Not that it matters much, because I imagine you're not flying too awfully far from Tok, but do you know roughly how far of a flight from Tok (time wise), you are going to be hunting? I think the going rate per hr. for a supercub up here is around $350. Obviously that rate fluctuates depending on where in the state you are flying, ie., the cost to fly in southcentral is cheaper than flying in the Brooks, but it's still not triple or quadruple, or whatever the price that 40 mile is charging. So, say the hourly supercub rate in Tok is $500 (which is probably an inflated guess), for a business to charge $8500/person would be the equivalent of taking a 4.25 hr. flight from Tok (figure one hour at $500/hr. x4). To put that into perspective, at the average speed of a supercub, (approximately 85mph), that would put you in a location about 360 air miles from Tok.

So again, my question is, approx. how far from Tok is Zack flying you?

40 Mile Air & Tok Air are Hunt Transporters, not regular hourly supercub pilots - during hunting season. They charge a set rate. That high price does include as many attempts that it takes to get you into and out of the field. To answer your question, I believe the the moose areas are ~1 to 1.5 hours (one-way).

 

[AK Troutbum]

40 Mile Air & Tok Air are Hunt Transporters, not regular hourly supercub pilots - during hunting season. They charge a set rate. That high price does include as many attempts that it takes to get you into and out of the field. To answer your question, I believe the the moose areas are ~1 to 1.5 hours (one-way).

Yeah, I know, pretty much everyone has gone to "set rates" rather than hourly. It wasn't like that 30 years ago, or even 20 years ago for that matter but transporters figured out they could make a lot more money charging a set rate. I think your wrong if you believe that the set rate means as many trips as it takes to get a person and his gear, both into and out of the field. If that set rate meant that a person could take as much shit and as many loads into the bush as they wanted, even charging as much as $8500/person, they wouldn't be able to stay in business for very long.

from the Tok Air website:
All drop camp hunts have a weight limit of a weapon and a 50 lb. backpack, except moose hunts have a limit of a 55 lb. backpack. This weight limit stays the same regardless of the body weight of the hunter.

 

[AKDoc]

Supply/demand economics are a fact of life, and I do appreciate that business owners have numerous and significant expenses that the consumer does not see.

That said, I personally would not pay an individual hunt transport fee of $8,500 for a DIY moose hunt. Of course, my personal decision makes no difference whatsoever because another consumer will and does pay those fees...and that returns us back to supply/demand economics.

The demand appears to be very high...and supply low.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Supply/demand economics are a fact of life, and I do appreciate that business owners have numerous and significant expenses that the consumer does not see.

That said, I personally would not pay an individual hunt transport fee of $8,500 for a DIY moose hunt. Of course, my personal decision makes no difference whatsoever because another consumer will and does pay those fees...and that returns us back to supply/demand economics.

The demand appears to be very high...and supply low.

Yup, can’t argue with that.


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[Nick Muche]

Thanks for the vote of confidence Vern! Haha

 

[VernAK]

Thanks for the vote of confidence Vern! Haha

I'm still hoping for the adultery Nick!

 

[Kevin Dill]

I'm going to guess there's more to Tok Air's rate increases than meets the eye. Speculation could be endless and pointless, so the only real debate is whether his hunts are worth what he charges....which is considerably more than other pilots and BGTs in the Tok/Fbks/Delta region. Having never hunted with him, I can't say. Having flown with some really good pilots who delivered extremely good service....at far less than half the cost of Tok Air....I would be in serious doubt that Tok Air offers service worth that kind of money.

Strategically....having those high prices will eliminate many hunters and produce additional openings for those who 1) won't want to wait years and 2) will burn the money to do it sooner. It's just gotten to where a few pilots are overtly saying "I can get you into moose but it's going to cost you dearly". Some restaurants are selling $80 steaks and $250 bottles of wine....and some people think it's worth the price.

My one conversation with Tok Air was to inquire about caribou opportunities for a couple friends. In 15 minutes of talking (maybe I should say listening and rolling my eyes) I was able to easily decide this wasn't a guy I was remotely interested in doing business with. But that's me and I don't want anyone reading this to think I'm forecasting problems on their upcoming hunts. Conversely, I hope all goes great and the money spent turns out to be worth it.

 

[fatbacks]

Just to put into perspective, we chartered a Helio Courier from Fairbanks to the eastern Brooks Range round trip (including attempts to pick up, bumping to different drainage, etc) for $7,000 this fall. That's a 3.5 hr trip one way. Split between two guys that allows for a lot of gear and space for dead stuff and is reasonably priced.

$8500 is outrageous. Only spoke with Zach one time and got a really bad vibe from him - especially when he found out I was a resident. My friend did a hunt with him and Zach would not tell him where he was going until 30 minutes prior to getting on the plane. Had no maps and was unable to get maps in the 29 minutes he had before take off. Unacceptable in my book. That said, I have heard rumors of some guys having a good trip with him.

 

[aggieland]

We used him on our only Alaskan hunt so far 3 person party for Caribou. Will have to check the price we paid, we were dropped 90 miles north of Tok.

 

[KChunter71]

Some great knowledge here. A moose hunt is in my future! Just when! Not for 8-10k for DIY per person.

 

[Wingert]

If Tok Air is asking for a deposit for a future transportation service, are they not providing a contract that represents the included services, deposit, balance and total price?

That would protect you as the purchaser of the service and them as to what is being delivered. It would also lock in the price so there would be no surprise "uplift" in costs.

 

[NUGGET]

I know of two active members here on rockslide that use Tok Air every year. I would love to hear their thoughts and opinions.

Ask Zack how much it costs to helio out a smashed up super cub....

 

[mritter]

I think Wingert has the best question.... when the deposit was sent, wasn't a contract signed?