Originally Posted by
Twist & Shout
I believe a few ex Bristow guys went to Babcock a while ago, (approximately 6 months ago?) and received S92 type ratings.
Babcock are also running AW139s out of Barrow island.....
Bristow Australia are, very unfortunately, letting experienced long time pilots go. It’s very bad in that camp right now.
CHC Australia have made no forced redundancies, and denied a large number of voluntary redundancy applications. Several pilots have resigned recently (no redundancy). Another positive sign that the industry is picking up.
Oil i$ up. More work is projected.. The current pilot work force is aging. No one is “coming up”. Some of the smarter, younger guys, who should be the “future” are changing to Fixed Wing. It’s basically the perfect storm for an Experienced Off Shore Pilot shortage.
Very likely scenario, but nobody wants to invest in the future. No operators will care unless you bring your own TR and IR, so it's a lost cause for 'younger guys'.
Looking at the bigger picture, airline flying isn't that dissimilar to offshore flying, you just have better progression and security with FW. Why wait for the fabled resurgence of O&G when you could be out of work within 6 months of starting, all whilst having zero other options when it does?