Land Based Airtanker Services NRSA

The purpose of the NRSA is to invite interested parties to submit Responses for the provision of Airtanker Services to be available at the discretion of the Province during the Service Period and Dispatched on an as and when requested basis.  Airtanker Services are used to support the management of wildfires for BC Wildfire Services (BCWS), a branch within the Ministry of Forests, and are required throughout the Province of British Columbia.

The Airtanker Services include the provision of o ne (1) Standard Airtanker Group comprised of:

1. 1. One (1) Airtanker with a minimum tank volume and retardant carrying capacity of 10,000 litres; and
   2. One (1) Birddog Aircraft

as further described in Section 3.3.2. There is a Service Period of 150 guaranteed consecutive days during which the Contractor will be required to be immediately available to the Province .

The Standard Airtanker Group will be supported by all necessary Aircraft Flight Crews and Maintenance Personnel for the duration of the Standing Arrangement in order to maintain and/or enhance wildfire response capabilities.

The Airtanker Services are to be provided during the Service Period, during which time the Contractor and Aircraft will be expected to be available for Dispatch as per the Alert Status, at one of the Province’s Airtanker Bases, as determined by the Province, and the Contractor will be paid at the Daily Available Fee while available and ready to be Dispatched and will be compensated for their flight times when Dispatched or otherwise requested to fly, according to the applicable hourly Flight Time Rate in Schedule B of the Standing Arrangement. Also, as and when requested, the Province may issue a Service Request for Additional Services.

The Province wishes to transition to all Next Gen Airtankers.  In order to reach this goal, the Province is providing the opportunity for a Standard Airtanker Group with only Legacy Airtankers, Legacy Airtankers as Transition Airtankers, and only Next Gen Airtankers.  The Province has a preference for Next Gen Airtankers as reflected in the fact that Responses proposing Next Gen Airtankers (including as final Aircraft in a transition plan) will be granted a longer term.  A Response that includes Legacy Airtankers only will only be eligible for a Standing Arrangement with a term of five (5) years.  A Response that includes Legacy Airtankers as Transition Airtankers must have Next Gen Airtankers ready before the start of the sixth (6 ^th ) year of the Standing Arrangement term.  See Table 1 below.

In addition to a longer term, the Province will award additional points in the evaluation under Section 9.2.1 to Responses proposing Next Gen Airtanker(s), including proposals with a transition plan that has Next Gen Airtankers.  Note that design standard is not evaluated for Birddog Aircraft.

Respondents may submit multiple Standard Airtanker Group configurations in one response.