Surely Bristows, being a private company, is entitled to do what it seems fit to improve productivity and efficiency to improve profits.
With Scatsta being 35nm north of Sumburgh, surely adding 70 miles to the round trip is going to be costly. 15 flights a day, add a half an hour to each trip for the distance (since the S92s are not going to maintain the supposed 150knots due to vibration) and you've got 7.5 hours a day. That's the best part of a day's flying wasted running back and forth, past Scatsta.
I can't see how it will be cheaper for Bristows to run from Sumburgh. I just can't
It seems as though Bristows are trying very hard to keep a foot hold in Sumburgh, nice and physically close to the SAR contract (best to keep an eye on things there down, eh?
). And to use the property they have already have down there, rather than sell up.