Solicitation for AK Helo On Call

Interior Business Center is soliciting offers on behalf of the Department of the Interior's Office of Aviation Services for Alaska helicopter on-call flight services under a Total Small Business set-aside, with offers due November 5, 2026. The solicitation, 140D0426R0078, is a multiple-award IDIQ with five one-year ordering periods from March 1, 2027 through February 29, 2032, covering nine aircraft line items under NAICS 481211 and PSC V221. Place of performance is Alaska. Services are restricted to operators with an established Alaska base of operations, and Lower 48 use is minimal and limited to emergency interagency fire operations.

Aircraft must hold FAA Part 135 Air Carrier and Part 133 External Load certifications, with Part 137 agricultural certification also cited, and carry specified avionics including ADS-B and equipment compatible with the government's Automated Flight Following program. Pilots must hold FAA commercial helicopter certificates with at least 1,500 total helicopter hours, and maintenance must be performed by FAA A&P mechanics with 12 months of helicopter experience. Flight crew duty is limited to 14-hour duty days, 8-hour flight days, and 42 hours per consecutive 6-day period. Vendor Q&A confirms that a vertical compass card cannot substitute for a Directional Gyro and that no waivers will be granted for Section B25.5.1 requirements.

Pricing covers daily availability rates, hourly flight rates, ACETA rates, and additional pay items for per diem, fuel servicing vehicles at $2.39 to $4.60 per mile, fuel at actual cost, and mechanic support. Q&A clarifies that availability is billed daily only for contracted days of hire and that mechanics are billed at a daily rate when requested. No award ceiling, budget, incumbent, or evaluation weighting appears in the source.

Amendment 0001, posted October 29, 2026, is the current state of the solicitation. It revises the Additional Pay Items pricing pages, removes the co-pilot paragraph from Section C20.6, adds a mechanic paragraph, and posts vendor questions and government responses. Offerors must acknowledge the amendment by the solicitation's specified deadline, and failure to do so may result in rejection of the offer.