There is an element of unreality about all this.
Bond, at the moment, is a company that badly needs to consolidate. See above for the reports of the number of pilots that have left in the last year (a fifth of their pilot workforce in the last year and more to come). They are already looking at putting a whole heap of IR training to Bristows because they can't do them as a reult of these losses (and Bristows has a 12-15 month waiting list, according to the gossip). They are also having problems retaining/getting engineers.
I'd also like to know where they will get pilots for any UK offshore operation (if this is the sector that is being considered). To get pilots from Scotia or Bristows they will have to pay _more_ to get people to move: how will this make the North Sea a more competitive environment for the oil operators? And competition kind of misses the point -- there aren't enough pilots as it is; adding another operator will just add to the inefficiency in the system (e.g. another set of pilots skimmed off to do headquarters/training functions).
I wouldn't like to underestimate the Bond brothers (well, one of them, anyway) but I'll believe all this when I see it. It will be interesting to see the further details of their plans next week.
What and when is the next big contract up for renewal in the North Sea?