The oil companies are awash with money - they just don't like passing it down to their contractors
No, they are very good at hanging onto what they have - just because they are making loads, doesn't mean to say they should pass it on. What the helicopter companies should be doing is negotiating harder and putting their prices up. It is the competitive tendering and the desperation to have work even at the tightest margins which is what you really should be complaining about. That is why Bond is back in the North Sea, that is why CHC is having high level financial woes and that is why Bristow's are tight with wages.
Believe it or not, oil companies are having a hard time at the moment - their operating costs have doubled in the last couple of years, the cost of drilling rigs has gone through the roof and construction capacity is tight (read maxed out). Developing fields has never been more expensive. With everyone being cost concious, it is no wonder that oil companies are being tight, despite the high price of oil. Bear in mind that a vast majority of the oil reserves globally are government owned and with oil being found in increasingly volatile poitical arenas, the oil majors are not going to hang their hats on $30/bbl let alone $65/bbl.
Sorry for thread creep.
How is Bristow playing this very nicely
And CHC would be playing it differently if the roles were reversed?