GoodBy Bristow

[piper-6]

So when Bristow lays you off after your working there 7 years they don't even say goodby.

They just pay you off and cancel your id card.

Loyalty doesn't extend to employeers.

[Hedski]

Company loyalty's very much a one way street with that lot….:suspect:

[Boudreaux Bob]

Remember the Old Days under Alan Bristow....when "Gardening Leave" existed?

[Hedski]

Very much first hand experience of that on several counts from beginning to end of my time there and it's still very much going on. T's & C's being ignored, allowances unpaid, but at the same time one should be grateful for the opportunity to work there…..:ugh:

[HeliComparator]

I'm sure it will depend on the local "middle management". Having retired last August, I had cause to contact the boss man himself in Houston recently. I couldn't have had a more helpful and sympathetic response (within about 5 minutes as well) with a request to phone him, and whilst the outcome is still pending I feel confident it will be positive. The culture at the top is good, but sometimes it gets lost in translation down to middle and local management.

[Boudreaux Bob]

Spend any time in Nigeria did you HC?

[SirKORSKY]

I thought the only phone-call anyone in Nigeria makes is the "Hot-Line" to squeal or rat? (BC does give out all his numbers, but I've never heard of him over-riding our national Masters!)

[SirKORSKY]

I only got to Nigeria last year, and I hear with the B412 done from EXM & ADX in October there will be lay-offs! (Although an email from HFO asking for work over in Eket makes that kind of schizophrenic?) Another captain on them quit this week so maybe there's hope!

[P2bleed]

I guess to fair to Bristow it depends, as HC has said, which BU you are with and the quality of your local management

[MamaPut]

Bristow was once a good company, when the man whose name it bears was at the helm. Now it's just another faceless, bloated corporation which will eventually go the way of all such entities.
In Nigeria the present management is also poor and as Bristow is not an indigenous company, during the coming years its dominance here will decline. There are a lot of unhappy people here ans some of them will soon start to leave.

[js0987]

Like HC, I'm recently retired having spent 2 years with the "original" and 35 with the "colonials." That's a long time to observe "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly."

As observed above, problems mostly originate at the middle level. Sometimes people are let go and it doesn't seem fair. Other times, management goes out of its way to help an employee out. I know of one time when a big boss found out a pilot, through no fault of his own, had a massive medical bill, and took care of it to the tune of close to 6 figures. Pilots who were grounded and had used up all their sick leave were put to work doing other things till they could get up to snuff.

Frankly, it is middle management that takes the brunt of the downside - they aren't protected by the CBA - and when it is decided that it isn't working out, well, it's not always pretty.

As far as layoffs - lots of variables. Covered by a CBA? If not, then overseas postings available, licenses required, etc.

Bottom line is, do your job, keep your nose clean, stay out of management and hope for the best.

[satsuma]

Bristow has no loyalty to its staff, they treat them like widgets on a shelf and only care about profit for shareholders. If they can screw a staff member over for $5 they will.

Is this the same company that the UK government has entrusted the provision of nationwide Search and Rescue services with in the future?

[jeepys]

I see that most of these comments regarding Bristows are from the US sector.

Whilst the company is the same I think things are a little different in the UK which is why I don't think you can bring the UKSAR into the fold.

Going back to the original post, remember, there is always two sides to a story!

Having worked for a few of the big companies they are not dissimilar.

[Schinthe]

It was an inspired decision of the people who bought out the original Bristow company to call themselves Bristow and capitalise on the reputation and goodwill that had been built up over the years, and it is obviously still working,... but it can't last forever, can it? What you see is not what you get!

[Boudreaux Bob]

satsuma....Yes it is. Knowing how loyal the RAF seems to be over the past dozen years or so....what is your point?

[satsuma]

Entrusted is the key word. Trust transcends the scales, small and large, micro and macro, however you choose to describe them. Comments such as,

T's & C's being ignored, allowances unpaid

loyalty's very much a one way street with that lot

and

faceless, bloated corporation

are observations relating to small scale experiences. Are they reflected on a larger scale with quality of output and if so, what implications are there for the government putting all their trust in one privately-owned organisation providing the SAR service in the UK?

[Boudreaux Bob]

Are you suggesting the ex-RAF pilots manning the Aircraft (nice new shiny state of the art aircraft and not ancient SeaKings).....can no longer get the job done for some reason?

You seem to be forgetting the "military" experienced crews the Civilian Company hires for such work.

Or...is that an "inconvenient truth" ?

[satsuma]

A lot of people are unconvinced by SAR privatisation. Comments such as those above only serve to heighten unease. Pilots can only be as good as the tools with which they're provided to do the job and the parameters within which they must work. A competent pilot, well-trained by another organisation, in a shiny new cockpit does not on its own equal an effective SAR organisation.

[jeepys]

Satsuma,

have you been or are you currently employed by Bristow?

[HeliComparator]

A lot of people are unconvinced by SAR privatisation.

They may be, but only out of pig ignorance. Privatised SAR has been around for just about as long as I have been a pilot. I very much doubt that the hundreds (or probably thousands) of people who have been rescued by Bristow or CHC SAR in the UK thought "gosh, I remain unconvinced by private SAR, think I'll stay bobbing about in the water / stuck up a mountain until the real (military) SAR boys arrive". Get real!

[HeliComparator]

It was an inspired decision of the people who bought out the original Bristow company to call themselves Bristow and capitalise on the reputation and goodwill that had been built up over the years, and it is obviously still working,... but it can't last forever, can it? What you see is not what you get!

Why not? Mr Bristow was an entrepreneur / empire builder but he had already sold out a good chunk of the company to B&C when I joined in 1980. Not long after that he completely sold out. We then had the decline in the 80s and 90s where we were run by a succession of self interested asset strippers, until the current incumbent took the helm. The last 10 years or so has seen massive investment and empire building return, so whilst the name of the boss may have changed, the original goals have returned. So what you see is what you get, bearing in mind we are in a 21st century environment not a 1970s one.

[lonestarchalk1]

So is Bristow a good or bad company to work for, on a pilots level?

[Boudreaux Bob]

As said earlier in the post....depends upon where in the huge outfit you find yourself. Nigeria certainly would rate right down at the bottom of the Totem Pole probably.....although Fouchon in Louisana is not a garden spot either. If you simply want to go to the Factory everyday....then Aberdeen would fit you to a "T".

I would think the SAR Operations would be the best of what Bristow has to offer.

It pretty much is what you make of it.

Their paycheck shows up on time and you do not have to beat everyone else to the Bank to cash it. That alone in the Helicopter Industry is not a bad thing.

[piper-6]

You speak of middle management. They are going also. The whole Alaska division is being let go.

[Colibri49]

Seen over a few decades, Bristow in the UK is undoubtedly top of the pile. Having worked for one of the rivals and other companies besides, plus comparing notes with friends who work for the rivals, I feel confident that I've been more than fortunate to spend the bulk of my career in Bristow.


Things really started to look up in the UK operations after the American cousins took over. I hope that Bill's successor can continue the trend.

[SirKORSKY]

NAF is a nightmare of confusion & befuddlement; and now a notice that pilots here will have to exchange with Eket over the next few tours, (ASSUMING), we win the Exxon-contract in August, introducing S76-D models?

And admonished also not to make "expensive" holiday plans as the rosters are sure to change.

What we do in worship for the almighty dollar :}

[212man]

S76Ds in Eket? I'm not sure that's a sound decision :confused:

[SirKORSKY]

Grass runway still not paved after years yapping about it! (Where do all those locally-grown profits go? Not to the local community that's for sure!) Bags of money still being sent to the "palace" in Uyo one suspects.

Guess that Bristow EXPECTS to win the contract renewal in August; egg on their face and mass desertion to the winning company!

[Nigerian Expat Outlaw]

piper-6, I've been with Bristow for a fairly long time and there have been many ups and downs. Some of the downs have already been mentioned on this forum, e.g. the asset stripping, the personality based "does your face fit" management style etc.

I've seen a lot of people come and go for various reasons, by and large ascribing to the grass is greener theory being the most common motivation. But my own belief is that all big companies aviation or otherwise have peaks and troughs, hence I have stuck with the comfort zone of what I know, accruing some seniority and building up a half decent pension along the way.

Having said that, I'm not sure what I (or anyone else) would expect upon retirement apart from hopefully a decent leaving party with patronising speeches etc ! Even the really senior guys in the old days simply retired; they were sometimes spoken of in either endearing or relieved (thank goodness he/she has gone) tones after they had left but that was all.

Without wishing to start any chest poking/d**k swinging exchanges, what were you expecting Bristow to do when you left that didn't happen and has made you disappointed ?

Cheers,

NEO

[Fareastdriver]

When I retired from Bristow all those years ago I had a nice letter wishing me a happy retirement and also that I was, according to my rank and seniority, entitled to a leaving present to the value of x.

There then followed an appendum to the effect that as I was based overseas the UK VAT element would be removed from this figure so the result was down about 15%.

I told them not to bother.

[Boudreaux Bob]

Never mind my expectations for my post retirement days....I always wondered why it was not necessarily the "cream" that rose to the Top and found a way to stay there far beyond their "Sell by Date".

When a really decent Chap made his way up that very greasy Pole of Management....it seemed they moved on to other places or suddenly found themselves exiled way up in Unst.

[Democritus]

When I retired from Bristow I did not have any letter wishing me a happy retirement. Instead I was bought two pints of beer at the Aberdeen Thistle Airport Hotel and given a photo of my last helicopter type signed around the edges by anyone they could get hold of - including me!

On the up side I will say that for the last 13 years the pension has always arrived on time thanks to the good people at Aon who administer it for Bristow in the UK.

I think people forget that any commercial organisation is really only interested in the bottom line - the staff are sadly expendable. Anyone who thinks that loyalty is a two way thing at some point in their career will probably end up sadly disillusioned, regardless of which helicopter company they work for. I learned that early in my career many years ago when having turned up for work at 0900 I was asked to clear my desk by 1030....but at least I did get a letter from them thanking me for my efforts.

Is this the same company that the UK government has entrusted the provision of nationwide Search and Rescue services with in the future?

You need have no worries there - the boys and girls at the sharp end, both on the ground and in the air will get the job done to the very highest standards - as they have proved over many years to date.

[SirKORSKY]

It's all about the money, honey.

Since joining Bristow Nigeria not so long ago it seems the "best days" are definitely in the rear-view mirror. (Drinking in bars, half-day rosters, golf trips to Uyo?)

And has anyone seen the disfunction of NAF topped by anything! All the Chiefs and their cults of personality, and circles of psychophants kissing buttock to ensure the weekends off?

AGIP is about to lose both Base Managers.

And if you want to meet the largest number of antisocial nitwits with dirty fingernails, apply for a transfer back to Lagos.

I'm holding out for transfer to Eket when the new contract is awarded in August and they swap B412 for S76; everything I hear about that operation is spot-on and well-run.

If not, vote with your feet; hasta la vista baby. (Lower wages, electricity, wifi, paved-roads, lower wages, security, ATC, self-respect, lower wages, happiness!)

[MightyGem]

They just pay you off and cancel your id card.
That's OK, That's all I got on leaving the Army after 24 years.

[piper-6]

Bristow spends a lot of money to publish the Bristow News. Yet no where in there is any mention that the Alaskan branch is being shut down.

All I thought I deserved was a mention that the Alaskan branch had done a good job and a good bye.

I understand that it is a business decision to close the Alaska branch and have no problems with that.

When I retired from the USAF I recieved a going away party and my ID is still good.

Now I am finally retied for good!

[Fareastdriver]

Now I am finally retied for good!

Fly contract then.

When I retired, see above, I walked out of the door, turned around and came back in as a 'Casual Pilot'.

After all those years I had finally been rumbled.

This lasted a year and eventually when I returned to the UK they were hollering down the phone asking me to fly at Aberdeen. This I did for about eighteen months. I was finally released when a jealous chief pilot fired me because he thought I was earning too much money. £300/day as a P2, five days a week. (Plus two pensions)

About a year later I went out to my old overseas operation to find that one of their pilots had done a runner. After a week I was there flying the line, yet again a casual pilot.

Then came the dreaded CAA/EASA 65yr limit.

Go to Oz, there is no age limit there, I was advised, so I did. Twenty eight days later I had an CASA ATPL(MIR) and so I was back at the operation but only permitted to fly the national aircraft. So there I was, being paid by one of the largest helicopter companies in the World but not allowed to fly their aeroplanes.

The work was seasonal but I had an Oz licence. This meant that Bristow (Aus) were interested. So off I went to the Solomon Islands, Karratha and Broome in between the Typhoon season in China.

Finally CAAC insisted that I get a Chinese licence, so I did. I carried on for a further two years before bits of me started wearing out and I finally threw it in.

Apart from some short breaks I flew for Bristow for twenty eight years and thoroughly enjoyed it.

[keithl]

"They just pay you off and cancel your ID"

Mighty Gem is right, that's all the military do, what do people expect? (and I did 32 years!)

I'm so disappointed with the retirement arrangements, I'm just not going to retire! 67 now, no longer flying, its true, but involved in aviation, working with a great bunch of people and, I trust, still contributing. That's the trick - work for your own satisfaction and let the big corporation provide the pay. Usually they get value for money, too.

[SirKORSKY]

Goodbye and best wishes to one of the best at Bristow Nigeria. Moved-up to Training Manager last year and then over to D/HFO recently; a true gentleman with a head on his shoulders. One of the very few in Lagos for sure.

So, now we have no one running either shop. The very definition of a rudderless ship.

I've started buying my gas at CHEVRON in his honor.

[Nigerian Expat Outlaw]

At the risk of thread creep, there is another thread on this forum started by Good Man In Africa in which I loosely chronicled my recent (victorious) battle with cancer and associated health issues.

In it I also told of how the company in general and certain people in particular "took care of me" during a very long, painful, frightening and life threatening period in my life.

My contract, like every other employee, doesn't have a "personal" clause so I consider myself extremely lucky to have that amount of interest from the very top all the way through to the people I had been working with throughout my treatment.

So when I retire, if I get a decent booze up with someone giving a speech about how great I was blah blah I'll be a happy man ! Sometimes it's OK to tell a white lie or two.........:ok:

Cheers,

NEO

[SirKORSKY]

Retirement speeches for current & past BM at NAF don't have many nice things to recite.

Wish that I was here during the time to defend but it's pretty negative; who chooses these guys?

Pilots fly and Managers blow inconvenience; too busy to FLY anymore.

[Nigerian Expat Outlaw]

Sorry to hear (or should I say read) that. There haven't been that many past NAF BMs. I was one of them ! :(

NEO