Frequently Asked Questions
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How much do your services cost?
Once we have established what services you need, we will quote on a case by case basis, taking into account the cost of airline tickets, the length of the mission, cabin class, travel dates, care level required, and whether ground transportation needs to be added. You will pay an all-inclusive price from door to door, or from bed to bed.
Who pays for the cost of a medical flight escort, an air ambulance or other type of medical transport?
Medical repatriation services are often covered by private travel insurance, provincial health coverage or other types of public funds. However, there are many scenarios in which a client needs to either pay out of pocket, co-pay for a partially covered bill or pre-pay for services and claim back later.
When is payment due for your medical transport services?
We offer direct billing if your medical transport is pre-approved by a third party. Whenever self-funded, payment is due in full before the bookings are made.
How do I pay for your medical transport services?
We accept international or domestic bank wire transfers, interac e-transfers, bank drafts and credit card payments. Partial payments using a combination of payment sources is possible, as long as the full balance has been settled before the start of the transport.
How much notice do you require to pick up a patient?
It depends on the mission type. Preparations for a ground or air ambulance pickup can be started immediately after receiving all necessary documents and activated within hours.
Commercial airline medical escorts can be activated within hours and can typically be enroute within 24 hours. Commercial airline stretcher requests can take a full week and are subject to the airline processing times and availability.
Can I fly after a stroke or heart attack, with cancer, with a chronic condition, after surgery, etc?
Whether you are fit to fly, and if so, what conditions need to be met for safe travel, depends on many factors, and is generally assessed by you threating physician, our medical director and the airline physician. We assist with the process of getting medical clearance to fly.
Can I fly on a commercial plane if I can’t sit, stand or walk?
Immobile patients needing mobility assistance can fly in an upgraded seat on a commercial plane if they are able to sit for up to one hour, for take off, landing and severe turbulence. Patients who cannot meet this requirement can only travel commercially on a stretcher. There is no expectation that a mobility impaired passenger needs to be able to stand or walk during a commercial flight.
Do you offer wheelchair assistance?
All airlines offer wheelchair assistance free of charge and have attendants at the airport to assist their passengers with getting in and out of their aircraft. We will request this service on your behalf. If a standard wheelchair is not appropriate, A JET COMPANION-provided reclining wheelchair can be pre-booked. Our medical escort will bring the equipment to the patient.
Can you provide private medical repatriation in or out of a warzone?
Do your flight nurses help with toileting onboard the plane?
Our medical escorts attend to all care needs of the patient, including diaper changes, hygiene tasks, incontinence management, Foley cather or ostomy care.
We don’t need a nurse. Can you hire our family member who is a doctor to cut cost and offer a discount?
As an aeromedical transporter, patient safety is our top priority. We assume professional responsibility for the health and well-being of the patient while in transit. Our high standards are incompatible with the practice of cutting corners to offer a cheaper deal.
When is a dedicated air ambulance necessary?
A patient may not get approved to fly on a commercial flight based on a high risk of becoming unstable or needing medical interventions, a requirement for large pieces of equipment such as a transport incubator or ECMO, a need for large volumes of oxygen, the need to fly at low altitudes, the presence of infectious disease, or when no commercial airline stretcher is available for a patient who cannot sit. If a ground ambulance is not an option, due to, for example the travel distance, an air ambulance becomes the next viable transport method.
Can a passenger with dementia travel on a commercial airline with a medical escort?
With the proper planning and precautionary safeguards, hiring a medical escort gives a dementia patient the best chance of being approved by the airline. Our medical escorts are frequently dispatched to accompany dementia patients, and our company has protocols in place to maximize the chances of success.
Will a psychiatric patient be accepted by the airline?
Airlines will not accept a passenger with mental health challenges who presents a risk of self-harm, an in-flight behavioural emergency or a safety risk to other individuals on the flight. Medical clearance and acceptance to fly commercially often depend on approval by a mental health professional, and factors like a minimum time period that the patient has remained stable, not needing crisis intervention, and overall compliance with medication. The patient must travel voluntarily and be able to follow flight safety instructions. Traveling with a trained medical escort who can offer one to one support, de-escalate and carry emergency medication, will increase the chances of an uneventful transfer.
Can patients on oxygen travel by air?
It depends. JET COMPANION is able to set up supplemental medical oxygen in close collaboration with the airline, but there are limits to how much oxygen can be supplied on a commercial plane. For example: if a patient has a high flow rate combined with a long flight, the airline might decline.
What companies in Alberta, Canada offer medical repatriation services and medical escorts?
The only international medical repatriation company in Alberta that specializes in medical escorts on commercial flight is JET COMPANION CANADA, based out of Edmonton. With patient transfers on commercial aircraft being the core business of the company, a diverse range of equipment and protocols are available to safely transport specific patient sub-categories, often over very long distances.
How do I bring a sick family member home from Mexico to Canada?
If the patient is cleared for commercial travel, a medical escort will be dispatched to Mexico with the necessary equipment, medication, and supplies, and will fly back to Canada the next day with the patient on a commercial flight. Patients who are unable to sit can only be repatriated by a private air ambulance charter. While many Canadians are comfortable driving to Mexico, returning home after a serious illness or injury is a different matter—medical repatriation by RV is not a viable option due to a variety of safety and regulatory concerns.
How long before someone can fly home after surgery abroad?
The surgeon who performed the procedure will determine when the patient is fit to fly. Certain post-surgical complications can be triggered or aggravated by travelling at altitude too early, for example, disturbances of the surgical wound, anemia, blood clots, air entrapment in body cavities, bowel obstruction and breathing problems. Once cleared to fly, a medical escort can help with oxygen supplementation, pain control, mobility assistance, wound care, drains and travel support, like helping with check-in, luggage and travel documents.
Can a patient on a ventilator be transported on a commercial flight?
A select few airlines allow the transport of ventilated patients as long as the patient is stable, and all the necessary care can be organized onboard. This generally means that a critical care team is brought onboard, with several pieces of equipment to keep the patient safe. Ventilated patients are always transported on a stretcher, and are subject to several layers of approval. Transport can be either from one ICU to another, or in the context of palliative care, honoring the end of life wish of the patient and the family.
Is it possible to transport a patient from the USA to Canada in an ambulance?
Yes, but it depends on the distance and the patient’s condition. Cross-border transfers by ground ambulance are generally restricted to communities near the border that can be reached without exceeding the maximum duty hours of the drivers. Commonly, patients are transferred in both directions between Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Montana, Washington, Idaho. For longer distances, such as Florida to Alberta or Arizona to British Columbia, air medical transport is faster, more practical and safer.
Can a patient fly after a stroke?
Most often then not, medical repatriation can safely be organized after the patient has been certified fit to fly by the treating neurologist. The timing can vary between a few days to a few weeks after the stroke. Factors to consider are the risk of having a new stroke or a seizure while flying, the severity of brain swelling and neurological deficits, the ability to sit or mobilize, and any problems breathing or swallowing. Often, stroke patients can travel on a commercial flight with a medical escort and wheelchair assistance, but if a stroke patient is left semi-comatose or without sufficient trunk control, a commercial airline stretcher or air ambulance may be the only options left for medical repatriation.