Bristow Australia's contract with Santos supporting its Port Hedland based drilling program will be having a 12 month break from the end of October 2019. Bristow is believed to be re-deploying 2x S-92s VH ZUV and VH ZUW internationally to service other "contractual" requirements. VH ZUW which was included in the list of Bristow Equipment Leasing aircraft subject to missed payments could find its way back to GECAS owned PK Air Finance as a repossession.
From a high of over 30 offshore contracted helicopters and 500+ staff in 2014, Bristow Australia will now only be left with its Beach Energy contract for 1x AW139 + 1x uncrewed technical backup based in Tooradin, Victoria. Bristow has recently vacated its Perth Airport offices it occupied since 1994 and is understood to be vacating Western Australia's oil and gas market completely reducing to just a base office in Tooradin, Victoria.
Coupled with its wholly owned airline Air North for which Bristow paid $32m in 2015 being for sale, its hard to see how Bristow will be able to continue as a going concern in Australia as it downsizes to just 5% of its 2014 footprint.