Despite the rising price of aviation fuel, Angel Flight pilots continue to shuttle Vineyarders back and forth to Hyannis, Boston and afar for necessary medical appointments.

The price of fuel comes out of the pilots’ pockets, but still they are flying. Island pilot Mike Shabazian said: “You can’t whine about gas prices. If you do, you don’t fly.”

Angel Flight Northeast is a nonprofit organization based at Lawrence Municipal Airport in North Andover. Operators coordinate flights for patients who need transportation to medical facilities for treatment, with pilots willing to fly for free. Last year, the service coordinated 5,000 flights across the Northeast. The service is free to patients.

In the past 12 months, Angel Flight has flown 42 Vineyard patients and 810 missions, according to Dick Sundell of flight operations.

Eighty per cent of the flights are between the Vineyard and Hyannis, where people go to Cape Cod Hospital, Mr. Sundell said. Most of the remaining 20 per cent of the flights are to Boston.

Not only are these pilots dealing with higher costs getting their planes in the air — including fuel, maintenance and insurance — Mr. Sundell said the number of patients coming from the Vineyard is rising.

“Just by listening to the people calling, I think it is the economy and the luck of the draw that is causing people to come to us. Just think: there are the rising cost of medical expenses. Add to that the rising cost of home heating oil, and the associated costs of transportation, food and clothing,” Mr. Sundell said.

So far all calls for assistance are being met.

Larry Camerlin, founder and president of Angel Flight Northeast, said pilots within his organization knew as far back as 18 months ago the price of fuel was going to rise. They just didn’t know by how much.

“We set out on a proactive aggressive pilot recruit program. We have added 100 new pilots. We now have 962 active pilots in New England,” Mr. Camerlin said.

“We fly a lot of Vineyard people over to Hyannis for their cancer treatment. Some of them go to Boston,” Mr. Camerlin said. “We take that responsibility very seriously.”

Interest in the service is rising. Angel Flight Northeast’s missions increased by 13 per cent last year.

“Our pilots pay for the fuel out of pocket,” Mr. Camerlin said. “We know that the pilots paid $4 million last year for fuel in this region.

“We know the pilots are now paying $6 to $8.50 a gallon for fuel,” he said.

Angel Flight assisted in helping the late Maynard Silva, an Island blues musician, get to his cancer treatments on the Cape. The service also helped Wendy Weisman Jenkinson of West Tisbury who died recently.

“The majority are going for radiation treatments. That means trips five days a week, for six, seven, eight weeks at a time,” Mr. Sundell said.

“Just try to imagine having to go to those treatments by car and ferry. After chemotherapy, just think about having to go onto that boat, every day.

“We had one person who was working in a town hall,” said Mr. Sundell. “He was able to do his daily treatments and still keep his job, because we could run him back and forth. He didn’t lose a whole day from work.”

More than half of the Vineyard Angel Flights are being flown by pilots who are from somewhere other than the Island.

“We’ve got pilots from southern New England, from Rhode Island, New York, pilots who love to fly and they get an opportunity to fly to Martha’s Vineyard and Hyannis. They get to go have lunch somewhere and then fly.”

Mr. Shabazian works as a business manager for Holmes Hole Builders in Vineyard Haven and gets the okay from his boss Gary Maynard to put the time into help with Angel Flight trips. He pilots a Cesna 182.

“I try to do one flight a week. Most are to Hyannis. Once a month or every six weeks I will fly to Boston,” he said. He believes at least three other pilots living on the Island are regularly helping.

Flying to Hyannis and back costs him approximately $175. A trip to Boston and back costs $325.

“I get a lot of satisfaction helping someone through a difficult time. I like being able to make it more comfortable,” he said. “This is really one way we can give back to this community. I flew Maynard. He was a wonderful positive person. He gave life where ever he was. This is the reason we live on the Island.”

Among Angel Flight pilots, Mr. Shabazian said, the value of the work they do is often rewarded when they see a former patient fully recovered from their medical ailment. “I see a lot of people on the street that I’ve helped,” he said.

“I’ve got a lot of passengers who have gone on to be my good friends,” said Joe Costa, 78, of Vineyard Haven, another active Angel Flight volunteer. “I’ve got friends who have gone on to donate the Angel Flight.”

Both Mr. Shabazian and Mr. Costa compliment the Martha’s Vineyard Airport crew in helping to facilitate Angel Flights.

Airport manager Sean C. Flynn said of Angel Flight: “They are a tremendous organization that does a lot for this Island. One of my relatives died before this organization started serving the Island. She used to endure the boat ride and the trip to Boston. It was back and forth every day. With Angel Flight it would have been a lot easier.”

Pilots qualify for a discount when they purchase aviation fuel from the Vineyard airport when they make an Angel Flight. As of this week, Angel Flight pilots were being charged $5.41 a gallon. The normal cost is $5.85.

“This money comes right out of the pilot’s pocket. We are trying to help,” Mr. Flynn said.

Angel Flight can be reached by calling 1-800-549-9980.