malabo,
Thought it was quite simple and it's all been aired on this thread in the past couple of months. However, now quite a few guys have crossed over between companies it's easy to confirm. OK, here goes. Both CHC and Bristow work just 6 months a year on site (unless you're one of the nuts who love the place so much you want to spend 8 months a year here!). Most of the expat Captains now here with CHC started with between 12 and 14 years seniority. There is no more seniority to come. Most of the expats Captains with Bristow start with between 4 and 6 years seniority. There is 19 to 21 years to come whether they stay here or go to Kazakhstan for example (worth more than $20,000 a year than CHC pay as top $). Even with only 5 years seniority a Bristow Captain earns the same as a CHC Captain. So if one has 14 years seniority with nothing more to come and the other has 5 years seniority with 20 years more to come and both start on the same money for 6/6, the Bristow guy will be earning substantially more after 2 years here. These figures are before the Bristow pay review for this year (figures not yet known). The other good thing about a monthly salary is that if you spend time on tour out in France or USA doing simulator training you get the same monthly salary, but with CHC you lose your incentive pay. With Bristow, I'm told, you're less likely to be expected to give up leave to do your sim training - but that could change I guess as they get more pilot shortages.
The managements of both companies know exactly what the other pays (pilots and engineers in Lagos and Port Harcourt work in hangars right next to each other and talk to each other and quite a few have crossed the fence one way or the other). CHC is pretty upfront about what they pay, but with Bristow it's all circultaed by 'eat before reading memos'. However, when a guy from Bristow shows me his pay stub, it's obvious he's getting paid more. Maybe CHC will do the same as last year and have a second pay rise, then Bristow also did the same. I guess we'll find out once Bristow open the box with the big secret in it (that's if they do this year). Both companies offer a pesnion scheme, but the Bristow one is better because they'll match 7% of your contributions where CHC will only match 4% and if you decide to leave this tropical paradise to work for another operator before you've been in the scheme for 2 years with CHC you won't get the company contribution back. Both companies offer good health insurance. CHC offers much better additional benefits, like loss of licence, computer loans
It's obvious that CHC is spending big bucks on a huge new hangar at Port Harcourt and is bringing in more new helicopters than Bristow (though for the CHC guys it's not so easy to see the new ones Bristow is bringing in because most of the new ones have gone to Escravos and Eket). This may or may not persuade the oil companies that CHC is more serious about staying for the long haul. It doesn't make the pay any better, but I guess it's nice to be more likely to be flying a newer helicopter with the goodies like TCAS, GNS530/UNS1K, Skywatch and a coupled autopilot if you're with CHC. CHC also has the AW139, though whether that's good or not is too early to say yet. Those that fly it really like the power it has though. Bristow now has the S76C++. It's only an improved model, but friends flying it say that the extra power is really noticeable and it's available right up to 35 centigrade.
When you spend 6 months a year of your life here, where you live gets quite important. Bristow definitely scores better here. CHC live in an old, insecure camp and although they're doing their best to improve facilities, it's pretty basic. One pilot even got an infected spider bite in his house there recently and had to be shipped home in considerable pain. They have plans to build a new housing estate near the airfield, but that's years down the road. After many complaints a new satellite system is being installed and should give everyone a good satellite connection from his room. With Bristow it depends where you live, with Eket now being the worst and one of the few places where there's no real sporting facilities available on site. Internet communication is very variable between bases and generally a lot worse than what CHC provide.
It's all been said before, mostly by Mama put, but there it all is again. I guess it'll change next month if Bristow have a pay hike and Brian Clegg comes up with anything to counter it. Both companies are short of experienced, qualified pilots and with a couple of big contracts coming up involving either S76C++, AW139, S92 or EC155 that shortage will likely continue.
Hope that helps
