In 2018, Hope Air provided 11,509 flights nationwide, including 574 for Albertans. Patients most frequently travel for cancer care; 22% of the flights that we provided last year were for cancer treatment. Patients also travel to treat heart disease, stroke, brain/spine disorders, and to access joint replacements and treatment for injuries. Sick and injured children often travel to access specialized care at Shriners Hospital for Children.

In the first six months of 2019, Hope Air provided 6,673 flights nationwide, including 330 flights for Albertans.

There is nothing like hearing from patients directly to describe the impact of the flights provided. We recently heard from these Alberta patients:

“I just can’t thank you enough for your service! I had extensive spinal surgery and was going to have to drive to Calgary and back to Grande Prairie which would have been extremely painful. Thanks to you I was able to fly! I didn’t realize that I would be discharged the next morning after surgery and my flight was booked for 2 days later so I called Hope Air and they changed my flight within minutes and I was able to come home that day!”

“I am a single mom with last stage cancer. Being a single mom itself is already hard financially. Hope Air has helped me a lot, ease off my stress on seeing my doctors in another city every 3 months. I don’t know what would I do without Hope Air. Thank you so much.”How we work:

The Flight Purchase Program allows Hope Air to arrange commercial flights for Canadians in need. Over 70% of Hope Air flights are purchased thanks to our caring and generous donor community.

The Commercial Airline Donation Program benefits from the generosity of many of Canada’s commercial airlines through the use of donated seats. Because we leverage the support of our corporate airline partners through volume discounts and low fares, Hope Air can maximize our impact on patients’ lives and value for donors.

Hope Air’s Volunteer Pilot Program organizes private pilots from across Canada to volunteer their time and aircraft to fly Hope Air patients to their appointments. Volunteer pilots are a lifeline for patients living in communities not serviced by commercial airlines.

Hope Air makes a big impact with a small staff (we have 12 full-time employees and 2 part-time employees). Hope Air was chosen by MoneySense magazine as one of Canada’s top-rated charities for 2019 and achieved a four out of four star rating from Charity Intelligence.We know that there remains significant unmet need for travel to access medical care. To meet increasing patient needs, we have plans for growth so that we can continue to reduce barriers of cost and distance to health care.

Our plan to increase the number of patients that we help is contingent on securing increased philanthropic support for flights. Every grant we receive helps increase the number of flights that we provide, and patients whom we can help. This is why philanthropic support from donors is a critical need for Hope Air.

On average, a flight costs $250. So, each donation of $250 provides one additional flight for a patient in need.

You can provide:

$1,000 for a round trip flight for a child and a parent so that the family can get a diagnosis and figure out a treatment plan for their child (4 flights)

$1,500 for a senior with cancer to fly for an assessment, her surgery, and a follow up visit two months later (6 flights)

$4,000 for a young adult to receive an organ transplant, with an assessment, a flight to the transplant, and monthly follow-up visits for six months, for the patient and a caregiver (16 flights)