In November 2017, I posted the following elsewhere when the Bristow Group bean counter numbers did not make sense in relation to the proposed rollout on the ground.
"The key related element of the earnings presentation is the order book which for UK SAR shows 4 large rotorcraft delivered in SEPTEMBER 2019. In line with that revelation are statements about a wider deferment of capital expenditure on aircraft and the possibility of not making any money in the North Sea during some of the examined periods. ... ... Their capex deferment plan runs out to 2021 and if they can put four aircraft back two years then I suspect it is simply cheaper to pay a penalty than pay for the aircraft and pay for all the training conversion. These things don't get any cheaper as we move toward 2023, so it just gets worse and worse. The next contract probably considers contractor performance on previous contracts: black mark for not completing the promised aircraft provision."
Here we are in April 2019 and the four aircraft were transferred from Leonardo to Bristow some time ago and fleet deployment is days away from completion. Multiply that discrepancy out across the entire Bristow Group world and it turns into big bucks and big trouble.