Good points continue to be added to this thread.
Cylic H, a competitive response from the commercial side of heliops is understandable. You do good work.
In the Tsunami, the first ones there were operating in about as short a time as could be expected of a specialised response unit. The variety of operators caused some inefficiency, in that some were allowed to cross hire to NGOs other than the one which had hired them, some were not. That left machines on the ground when the hirer had no work that day. A response unit would put itself under the control of the affected country's disaster relief organisation. Probably. That may depend on the country, and what is left of it.
The difficulty I see with the commercial operators is funding. I heard on the radio today that the helicopter operation in Pakistan has two more days funds, then it will cease. I doubt it will, as someone will find some funds from somewhere, but the fundamental problem remains that unless you are pre-funded, the NGOs will not be able to hire you when their contributors get donor fatigue.
On reflection I take back my comments that this unit can go commercial when not required for relief work. They won't be kicking their heels and the crews losing currency. With the size of the organisation for the forseeable future, they will be employed full time supporting disaster relief. Darfur still needs help. Aceh still needs help. Congo could use help. And of course, now Pakistan. We can all predict a "next" disaster area, and we know it won't be long. Wherever MSF are working, (over 80 countries now) there may be a need to move supplies and people if the terrain and time warrant.
You are right that NGOs have a bad reputation for burning charity funds, the infamous white Landcruiser being the common visible example. Even with a lean mean organisation this helicopter response unit will be expensive. There comes a point where a society decides that the cost of saving a human life is too expensive, and figures from US$300,000 to M1.5 per life have been derived by insurers in various countries. If the unit costs more than that to operate per life saved, then it may well be that the funds are better spent on Malaria research and bednets.
Tony C has a forum up and running on a Helicopter Response Unit. He will no doubt introduce it when he is content with its performance.