Despite the adverse security situation and the instability preceding the 2007 Presidential elections, there’s a lot of helicopter work in Nigeria. However, the shortage of suitably qualified pilots looks set to continue and maybe even worsen, which may lead to a decrease in helicopter activity in the short-term. The only incentive for pilots to come here is money and it’s just not enough in present circumstances to keep enough crews to fulfil the expansion plans of the 2 major operators, Bristow and CHC. There is a lot of other work around in safer, nicer places for not much less money right now and more pilots are looking there first. For instance, Heli Malongo are now offering good money for a 4/4 contract in Angola and pay in Europe is such that pilots from there are not so willing to put up with substandard conditions in Nigeria without a substantial financial incentive. This has led to a considerable decline in the number of pilots from Europe and North America willing to work in Nigeria and seen a shift towards more from lower-paid countries like Malaysia, Thailand, the Phillipines and South America.
The Bristow pay-rise and change to 6/6 may have been widely talked about, but details are conspicuous by their absence. One or two pilots may have put their resignations from Bristow on hold, and a few CHC pilots may have made enquiries about moving over, but unless the Bristow management manages to slough off its almost total inertia soon, they’ll just be thought of as a joke. Their area manager for West Africa has already returned, but despite the expectations of so many, the silence is deafening. People will lose what little remaining patience they have soon and the drain will continue to the point where their flight operations will become unsustainable. The crews are already being scheduled on the basis of who is closest to 28 day flying limits and more pilots from Eket seem to be going sick once they’re out on leave. The pay may be little different, but Bristow have no equivalent of the CHC benefits package, with loss of licence, pension, personal loan schemes for all, reasonable internet access at all places of work as well as in all the housing and decent medical facilities in-country as well as good healthcare insurance. CHC comes across as a more caring employer, far more in-tune with the expectations of staff in the 21st century. Bristow still have the old attitude of 'well we managed like this 20 years ago, so why should you expect any better now?'. This attitude will no longer wash and it's obvious that the OLOG take-over has done little to change matters - odd when you consider that Air Logistics is one of the more enlightened employers in the USA and even has a union!
CHC can have little to smile about either. They may have taken delivery of the first AW139 in Nigeria, but it’s not theirs, it’s for Peter Odili, the governor of Rivers State. The new CHC management, put in to replace the ‘terrible old management from Schreiner’ has seen the number of helicopters fall, pilots resigning or looking for transfers and almost lost a major oil company contract, saved only by a visit of ‘Captain Kobo’. Many of those who were too quick to celebrate his departure and new, enlightened management now wish for his return and to have managers who know how to get things done in Africa, particularly Nigeria. He managed to increase the number of contracts and aircraft and didn’t interfere in the personal lives of the pilots, but the new managers have no clue of how to deal with things in Nigeria and are now also now treating their pilots like children. No wonder the Aero bar is a sad shadow of the place where once everyone wanted to visit. The management have a seemingly caring attitude, but with all their experience of nearly 2 years in Nigeria seem to think they know it all, can change it all to just the same as Thailand and anyone who doesn't like it is welcome to leave as they have queues of willing (but hopelessly inexperienced and poorly qualified) applicants. They'd be much better as they're cheap and won't complain about moving to the new Paradise camp on Death Road
The sad, fatal crash of OAS’s Astar has seen another civil helicopter operator probably set to fail along with the likes of Southern Air, Stillwater, Concorde and Okada. Caverton is still just hanging on, but with just one AS350B2 flying, and the recent firing of its Chief Pilot and another national pilot, it has almost no credibility left. It’s been talking forlornly of its Lagos shuttle operation and expansion into fixed-wing operations, but as long as its owner insists on interfering it will probably never achieve anything except another costly collapse, despite the best efforts of Sunny. Their 109 actually did arrive in UK recently, but the number of former Caverton pilots, both expat and national and expat, now working for Aero and all owed money, is testament to their abysmal management style. How they think they can get any pilots with any credibility, acceptable to a large company to crew a 139, heaven knows - probably the old-boy network again. Having seen the weather that inexperienced pilots are flying single-engined helicopters in, with not the slightest chance of making a safe landing in the event of an engine failure, bears out what ruma says when he talks about working in unacceptable weather because of pressure from uncaring and callous management.
There are signe that Bristow may be set to change some of its old ways (more due to the pressure of having to get crews than to any real enlightenment), but unless CHC can bring back someone like Captain Kobo, they'll continue to run into problems. Actually, Captain Kobo would probably be a good replacement for Kone Head, because at least he has the art of talking to everybody and getting some form of consensus. The management in Vancouver still think they can micro-manage everything from there and this may well prove a costly mistake in the longer-term, despite their huge budget. Companies like Caverton and OAS are also needed here to fulfil a charter and GA helicopter requirement, but until they have owners, like those of Bristow and Aero who allow their hired aviation experts to actually get on and make decisions and stop behaving like too many Nigerian employers, they'll only ever be on the sidelines and have huge staff turnovers, followed by the inevitable decline as they show no profits.
Sad isn't it? A huge country, with vast potential, many pilots interested in coming to give it a try, but very few happy or contented workers. Let's hope that financial pressures will force a new enlightenment within the next few years. Nigeria has been written off many times, but I expect that things will improve in the next year as change is forced on employers. It will continue to be a dangerous and unstable working place for a long time to come yet though.