Crab,
I have never criticized Alan Bristow and in fact have been quite vocal about how good it was to work for a "Real Helicopter Pilot".
I had direct interface with him on several occasions and saw first hand what an amazing guy he was.
He took care of his people and had some very good managers looking out for the outfit.
There were bumps in the road but you knew you could take a problem up the chain right to Mr. Bristow himself and get a fair hearing from him.
It was after he sold it that it the changes started taking place that leads us to where the company as a whole (not just the UK Business Unit) finds itself today.
All things change....even the RAF and Bristow.... but not always for the better.
Helicrazi is not as crazy as he hopes when he describes the admin growth in the company.
I watched that happen during my time with the company in one of their operations in Africa.
For the longest time the GM pretty much ran the show with a Managing Engineer and a very small staff.
After he was replaced the admin staff numbers blossomed into a real gentleman's club with lots of new titles, new offices, each position replete with an assigned car and driver.
We know the rest of the story about how all that turned out after the change in ownership and the growth of staff pukes occurred.