Bristow to step up offshore pilot training in USA

Bristow is set to double the pilot training programme at its US training academy to service the thriving offshore transport market. The move comes as the US-based Bristow acquires three Sikorsky S-76C++ helicopters and exercises an option to buy four more S-92s, bringing orders and options for the large helicopter to 21.

"We are seeing an overwhelming demand for rotorcraft training both from self-sponsored and company sponsored pilots," says Bristow senior vice-president, global training division, Patrick Corr. The Tutsville, Florida-based company trains around 50 pilots a year for European and US approved commercial pilots licences, but expects to see this number increase to 100 a year over the next two years as it expands and revamps the campus to accommodate the growing numbers.

Bristow, which operates a company-owned fleet of more than 330 helicopters, is undergoing a seven-year $450 million fleet expansion and revitalisation programme designed to strengthen its appeal within the highly competitive and booming offshore transport market.

Corr says this strategy is essential if Bristow is to continue to retain its position as one of the leading offshore operators. "The oil and gas companies are a driving force this upgrade programme," he says. "They require the latest, most efficient and safest helicopters to transport their employees to increasingly remote offshore facilities where the weather is often harsh. We are responding by replacing older types such as the S-61s and Eurocopter AS332L Super Pumas that typically fly around 800h a year, with S-92s, S-76C++ and EC225s," he says. The offshore market, Corr says, is very lucrative with oil companies continually searching the globe for new sources. "For good operators there will always be work from the exploration phase through to production and decommissioning," he says.