Laura Douvier is the safety officer at Zip Aviation and a line pilot in the S76. She’s been with the company for three years and has seen opportunities to advance, including getting checked out in the Sikorsky. “My favorite aircraft is the S76,” she says. “I like to go IFR, get in the clouds and always just have an out if needed.” The flexibility of the far more advanced and IFR- capable S76 offers a relief valve for charter operations, giving an option when the 407 may be unable to fly due to weather, albeit at a greater expense. Besides the busy airspace, the weather is the greatest risk in Zip’s area. Especially around Long Island near the ocean, the weather can change pretty fast. Pilots have to learn the different fronts and systems and what to expect.”
The IFR-capable S76 gives pilots and customers more flexibility to complete charter flights in less optimal weather conditions.
As safety officer, Douvier oversees the employee safety reports as well as the risk assessment tools to help pilots make go/no-go decisions as they learn the complexity of the environment. Zip Aviation uses Complete Flight for their pilot risk assessments, which helps remove the guess work and greatly simplifies the decision- making process for pilots. It can also send notifications to appropriate personnel if a pilot or operation is flagged as a higher risk. In addition to these risk-assessment tools, the aircraft are equipped with ADS-B in and out, which greatly
enhances situational awareness in the busy metro environment. Beyond tours and charters around the NY/NJ metro areas, Zip has had the exclusive rights to provide helicopter passenger
services to the
Ryder Cup international golf tournament since 2016. In 2025, the Ryder Cup was held in New York, which provided a special opportunity for Zip pilots and staff. Almost their entire fleet descended on Bethpage Black for the three-day event. Nearly 245,000 people attend the competition, which rotates cities in the U.S. every two years. During last year’s Ryder Cup, Zip coordinated more than 300 flights and flew over 2,000 passengers in support of the event.
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