Ground flight
18th Jun 2009, 16:52
Can anyone shed some light on this situation
Petroleum-services firm sues helicopter-transport companies
A Fort Lauderdale company was one of three sued by a petroleum services provider, which claimed they conspired to jack up prices for transport to oil rigs.
BY PHIL MILFORD
BLOOMBERG NEWS
Superior Offshore International, the petroleum-services provider that sought bankruptcy protection last year, sued three helicopter-transport companies, including one in South Florida, alleging they fixed prices for flights to oil rigs.
PHI of Lafayette, La.; Seacor Holdings of Fort Lauderdale, and Bristow Group of Houston acted to stifle competition in trips to the platforms, according to federal court papers filed June 12 in Wilmington, Del.
''This case arises from a conspiracy among the largest providers of offshore helicopter services in the Gulf of Mexico to fix, raise, maintain or stabilize'' their prices, plaintiff's lawyers said in an antitrust lawsuit.
The market for Gulf flights is ''several hundreds of millions of dollars per year,'' with 650 helicopters making as many as 7,500 trips a day to 7,000 oil and gas platforms, according to the complaint, which seeks unspecified damages and class-action, or group, status for customers from 2001 through 2005.
Richard Rovinelli, PHI's chief administrative officer, and Molly Hottinger, a Seacor spokeswoman, declined to comment on the lawsuit. Linda McNeill, a Bristow Group spokeswoman, didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.
''A new entrant would face a significant hurdle to break into the market in the face of existing contracts,'' Superior Offshore contends in its complaint. If the market was competitive, ``purchasers would naturally resist price increases by shopping around.''
The lawsuit alleges that aircraft charter prices were ''relatively stable'' until 2001, when the three companies agreed to raise prices, first, by 30 percent and, ultimately, by about 50 percent from the base price by the end of 2005.
Court papers show that Bristow's day-rate price in 2001 was about $5,000 and can now be more than $35,000 for a large helicopter.
Superior Offshore also contends in its lawsuit that the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division has an ''ongoing criminal grand jury investigation'' of the helicopter services industry in the Gulf of Mexico.
The lawsuit cites a March 2009 filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission by Bristow that the investigation could have ''adverse effects'' on the company. PHI said in a December filing with the SEC, according to the lawsuit, that the investigation ``could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.''
Laura Sweeney, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Justice Department's Antitrust Division, had no comment on the investigation.
Petroleum-services firm sues helicopter-transport companies - Business - MiamiHerald.com (http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/1102693.html)
Petroleum-services firm sues helicopter-transport companies
A Fort Lauderdale company was one of three sued by a petroleum services provider, which claimed they conspired to jack up prices for transport to oil rigs.
BY PHIL MILFORD
BLOOMBERG NEWS
Superior Offshore International, the petroleum-services provider that sought bankruptcy protection last year, sued three helicopter-transport companies, including one in South Florida, alleging they fixed prices for flights to oil rigs.
PHI of Lafayette, La.; Seacor Holdings of Fort Lauderdale, and Bristow Group of Houston acted to stifle competition in trips to the platforms, according to federal court papers filed June 12 in Wilmington, Del.
''This case arises from a conspiracy among the largest providers of offshore helicopter services in the Gulf of Mexico to fix, raise, maintain or stabilize'' their prices, plaintiff's lawyers said in an antitrust lawsuit.
The market for Gulf flights is ''several hundreds of millions of dollars per year,'' with 650 helicopters making as many as 7,500 trips a day to 7,000 oil and gas platforms, according to the complaint, which seeks unspecified damages and class-action, or group, status for customers from 2001 through 2005.
Richard Rovinelli, PHI's chief administrative officer, and Molly Hottinger, a Seacor spokeswoman, declined to comment on the lawsuit. Linda McNeill, a Bristow Group spokeswoman, didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.
''A new entrant would face a significant hurdle to break into the market in the face of existing contracts,'' Superior Offshore contends in its complaint. If the market was competitive, ``purchasers would naturally resist price increases by shopping around.''
The lawsuit alleges that aircraft charter prices were ''relatively stable'' until 2001, when the three companies agreed to raise prices, first, by 30 percent and, ultimately, by about 50 percent from the base price by the end of 2005.
Court papers show that Bristow's day-rate price in 2001 was about $5,000 and can now be more than $35,000 for a large helicopter.
Superior Offshore also contends in its lawsuit that the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division has an ''ongoing criminal grand jury investigation'' of the helicopter services industry in the Gulf of Mexico.
The lawsuit cites a March 2009 filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission by Bristow that the investigation could have ''adverse effects'' on the company. PHI said in a December filing with the SEC, according to the lawsuit, that the investigation ``could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.''
Laura Sweeney, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Justice Department's Antitrust Division, had no comment on the investigation.
Petroleum-services firm sues helicopter-transport companies - Business - MiamiHerald.com (http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/1102693.html)