Island Air Flight School & Charters Inc.

I've been training with Island Air for just over a year and absolutely love it. The first big advantage is the airport - Billy Bishop is one of a select few airports in the world with big skyline views on every departure and arrival. As a result, not only do you get jaw dropping visuals, you also get the advantage of training in busy controlled airspace and becoming very familiar with ATC procedures. The controllers at the island are amazing, caring, and patient - even when you stutter on the radio - I cannot begin to emphasize how much better of an experience this makes training.The staff, in my experience, are genuine and working hard towards careers in aviation. They understand that their reputation is on the line with every student they fly with and really take that responsibility and duty of care to heart. They are passionate about flying and eager to share their knowledge and experience. I've been training with Giorgino who is an absolute all-star and all-round great fellow.The planes are in tip-top shape for a flight school and the maintenance logs are meticulously filled out and easy to read. Some of the planes are old and, as you should expect, display a little wear-and-tear - this is normal. You'll probably be in worse shape when you hit the plane's age. If you want a nicer/newer plane, pay the additional cost, just like everywhere else.I'd highly recommend Island Air to anyone interested in flying and have referred a few friends for discovery flights already.

flying here for a long time, Mel can be very pushy at times but you can never get tired of the breathtaking view. I flew with most of the instructors there for checkouts and never had issues but stay away from Ali I did a couple of flights with him and knew he was trouble from the get go, snatches controls, yells in the airplane, snaps his knife out if you make any mistakes and calls it motivation but I call it life threatening. His post briefing was 2 min after our first flight but 15 min on my next and I happened to realize the reason after I caught him making frequent eye contact with this female who was around us to impress her.

Worst service ever. I came here all the way from Brampton by taking buses and trains. I am a new student wanted to do the Recreational pilot program. I was unattended for about 40 mins. Everybody was busy. After so much waiting the reception guy tells me ok wt u wanna do. I said i am a new student, can i have someone who can give me a course overview, how this works, what im gonna do. Like i am new to all this! I dont knw what things i need and stuff. I was expecting a person who would sit with me give me a walk though with costs and requirements. They treated me like i am buying an ice cream. Like hey u wanna do this ok do it bye. Cmon man. Is this how you treat a new comer. I did not know how much it costs, wts the admission process, i m new. BIG DISAPPOINTMENT. You guys should attend a new comer and explain in detail. This is flying not a joke. It took me 2.5 hrs to reach here and i left the school right after 40 mins of waiting. A big no to this school of you are a newbie.

Island Air is a great place to learn how to fly. Amazing views flying out Downtown Toronto at the island and it's a busy airport so you learn how to make proper radio calls with tower and deal with different situations and instructions from them.I have been to different airports and different flight schools during my training but my experience at Island Air was the best. The CFI Kiran is an amazing person and have a great team of instructors, some of whom I flew with like Vivek, Giorgino and Hassan. They played a very important role in helping me reached the airline world. The instructors are very resourceful, patients, friendly and always willing to help their students.Mel, the owner of the flight school is a great person and takes great care of the planes and maintain them well. He may come out as strict person but that's because of his passion about his flight school.I personally enjoyed my experience at Island Air since 2016 and thanks to the great team, I was able to become a successful pilot.

I started my PPL training in the fall of 2019 with Ali and I have nothing but great things to say about him. Not only is he a very kind and patient instructor, but he is an an extremely experienced pilot and is so passionate about what he does. Learning to fly is an overwhelming experience, but he has always been very supportive.When I started out, I wasn't sure how to choose an instructor, but he reached out to me right away and offered to take me. He had also taught a few of our ground school classes and other students agreed that his ways of teaching were so clear, concise and fun. I knew then that I lucked out by getting to fly with him! If anyone is looking for a great instructor at Island Air, I'd highly recommend Ali.

I just called to inquire about my pilot license, I spoke to William the dispatcher, lovely human, super enthusiastic and knowledgeable! I am very excited to attend Island air flight school! Thanks again William, great service

Really nice location, and friendly staff. Very helpful when asked, such as checking over my plans to fly long legs and giving me tips and pointers so my flights go smoothly. Dispatch is also very professional and have followed up with me on multiple instances, demonstrating care.

This is a great place to learn to fly. There are many benefits to learning at a busy airport with real traffic. You learn how to make proper radio calls with tower and need to deal with different situations and instructions from them. You always need to be aware, can't take anything for granted, and it forces you to be a better pilot. Not to mention, if you live in Toronto, it is the most convenient location.The owner, Mel, takes excellent care of the planes and they're all in great shape. Even the older Cessna models are still going strong after 40 years. I've flown with 4 different instructors here and they have all been awesome. I did most of my training with Ali and I think he is an excellent instructor, he's extremely accommodating with his schedule, and a great teacher. I found he is very good at determining how fast or slow he needs to take things to make sure you really understand the concepts. He will take you into challenging weather situations to make sure you experience these things with him first, rather than by yourself, later on. I've always felt confident after our lessons, and each one of them has been a pleasure.

My husband, my self and my 2 YO son went here yesterday for a flight lesson for my husbands Christmas present. William took us up and allowed my husband to fly. He was so knowledgeable, reassuring, patient, and kind! Stellar person! I can not say enough good things! 10/10 recommend!

2 days ago I took a city tour and it was so amazing the views were spectacular and our pilot Giorgino was knowledgeable and very friendly and even allowed us to fly the planes a bit.