From Flight Nurse to Founder: Bridging a Critical Gap in Air Medical Transport

By Ericka Essington, BSN, RN, NRP, CFRN, FP-C, CMTE

I’ve spent most of my career in the air, on helicopters touching down in rural fields at the scene of an accident, fixed-wing aircraft flying across borders caring for critical patients, and on private jets carrying families, patients, and stories at 40,000 feet. Over 15 years in critical care transport taught me that equipment and credentials matter, but how care is delivered, and by whom, is what truly changes outcomes.

Some patients I’ve flown with were hanging on by a thread. Others didn’t need the air ambulance we were flying on, they just needed someone clinically capable and emotionally steady beside them. But that was their only option. Across all those miles, I kept seeing the same thing: a missing option for travelers who didn’t fit neatly into the system.

The Current Landscape: Growing Demand, Limited Choices

The global air ambulance market is expanding fast—projected at $13.24 billion in 2025, rising to over $21 billion by 2030 (Mordor Intelligence). Some forecasts place it even higher, surpassing $47 billion by 2032 (Market.us).

In North America, air ambulance missions are not cheap. The average cost of a fixed-wing air ambulance rose to $81,000 in 2020, while helicopter missions averaged $36,000, according to a study published by the American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC, 2023) source. These missions are essential for critically ill patients—but they’re often excessive for someone who’s stable yet still needs medical oversight.

On the other end of the spectrum are commerical medical escorts, clinicians who accompany patients on commercial airline flights using publicly available seating and basic tools. While these services can be helpful, their environments present clinical and safety limitations. Peer-reviewed research has documented the challenges of in-flight care on commercial aircraft, including limited access to emergency equipment, difficulty positioning or monitoring patients, and a lack of medical protocols or telemedicine support (Aditya et al., 2020; Aditya et al., 2022).

These escorts typically operate without physician medical direction and are often credentialed for general nursing rather than air medical transport. Privacy, infection control, and consistency in care standards vary dramatically.

This leaves a wide-open space between the two, a space that’s been underserved for too long.

The Lightbulb Moment: My Grandmother’s Flight

The idea for Air Nurses didn’t come from a business plan. It came from trying to fly my grandmother.

She didn’t need a full air ambulance, but she needed more than a companion. I was shocked at the options: either fly her commercially without the comfort, privacy, or support she needed, or book an air ambulance that felt more like a flying ICU, which she didn’t need either.

I knew there had to be something better. And when I couldn’t find it—I built it.

Why Private Aviation Was the Right Fit

Many of our clients already have their own aircraft. That’s part of what makes private aviation such a natural setting for our service: we don’t disrupt their environment, we blend into it.

Clients travel with the crew they trust, on the jet they know. We simply add a layer of medical oversight that matches the quality of everything else around them. Our nurses dress discreetly when flying with executives or wear traditional uniforms when traveling with elderly passengers who benefit from visual clarity.

When needed, we partner with vetted aviation brokers to secure aircraft from operators that meet our safety and transparency standards. And our partnerships extend beyond the flight, we coordinate ongoing care on the ground through hand-selected concierge nursing teams who operate with the same clinical excellence we do.

What We Actually Do

We’re not an escort. We’re not an ambulance. We’re the care onboard.

• CFRN-Certified Nurses: All of our clinicians are nationally certified in flight nursing with backgrounds in critical care transport—the highest standard in air medical care.

• Clinical Direction: Every mission is guided by physician-approved protocols with access to real-time telemedicine support.

• Rapid Response: With nurses based across the U.S., we average under 6 hours to bedside domestically and around 12 hours internationally.

• Concierge Care: Our nurses are trained in high-touch service and discreet integration with flight crew operations. We act as supplemental crew—filling a role no one else is focused on. Air Nurses is the only in-flight medical service built specifically for private aviation.

We manage everything from medication administration and monitoring to mobility support, always calibrated to the client’s needs.

Two Stories That Illustrate the Gap

These fictional examples reflect what we see every day:

1. The Executive with a Heart Condition

She’s flying across the country. She has a history of arrhythmia, takes cardiac meds, and wants to avoid unnecessary risk. A commercial escort doesn’t provide discretion or privacy. An air ambulance is excessive. With Air Nurses, she flies in her own jet with seamless clinical oversight.

2. The Post-Op Traveler

He’s just had orthopedic surgery. He needs IV antibiotics every six hours and close observation for infection. Commercial flights aren’t practical, and an air ambulance is too much. We handle everything from his ground transfers to his medication schedule, so he arrives home safely and with dignity.

Market Trends That Reinforce the Need

This model isn’t just about filling a gap—it’s meeting a growing demand.

• The medical escort services market is projected to reach $1.07 billion by 2031 at a 6.2% CAGR (markwideresearch.com, qyresearch.com).

• LifeFlight Australia saw patient transports rise 13% in 2024, moving a record 8,477 patients with a 67% increase at one base (couriermail.com.au).

• The Philadelphia Learjet crash that killed six was a sobering reminder of why clinical protocols and safety culture matter (apnews.com).

Where It’s Headed

Looking ahead, we’ll see technology like eVTOL aircraft, tele-ICU, and AI-driven dispatch come into play. But even as tools evolve, the heart of this work stays the same:

Clinical integrity. Personalized care. Real presence.

We’ll Grow Carefully

Air Nurses is built to scale—but only if we can maintain the standards that make our work exceptional:

• Credentialed Clinicians

• Custom Flight Plans

• Evidence-Based Protocols

• Discreet, Human-Centered Service

Final Thought

This didn’t start as a business strategy. It started because there wasn’t a solution I felt safe enough using for my own family.

Air Nurses fills the space between air ambulance and medical escort. We provide board-certified care, concierge-level service, and real clinical oversight—in the air, on your terms.

If you’re planning a journey that calls for more than “just in case,” we’re ready when you are.