Let's see - what makes airlines so safe??? And I'll leave you to make your own comparisons.... (all this is based on the US airline model and not all comparisons are valid for the rest of the world)
To start - excellent weather reporting at all airports they use. And pretty good predictions.
Next - navigation aids at all airports (most have ILS, and the move is to make all approaches like an ILS). Very rare to have an airliner make a missed approach.
Then - certified, trained dispatchers to set up flights and make decisions on loads, etc. The pilots don't do weight and balance calculations (mostly).
Add- nearly continuous radar coverage, and certainly continuous ATC coverage.
- all large aircraft have significant performance on one engine, and the performance is scheduled for an engine-out situation for the entire flight. (the reliability of FW turbine engines is even better than RW turbines, so why are they bothered by this??? Must be a reason...)
- two pilots, even the small commuter aircraft.
- they have performance charts that are comprehensive and give them the information they need.
- they fly on a scheduled basis (that is, not when there is a full load of passengers)
- facilities that are regularly checked (most airports check the runway and taxiway lighting on a very regular basis, if not daily).
- dedicated fire crews are all airports above a certain size
- excellent knowledge of where any temporary or semi-permanent objects that might affect safety are (i.e. unlit cranes or towers within a certain distance from the runway / airport).
- nearly all pilots belong to a union - a union that believes in active participation in safety (ALPA's largest expense is putting pilots on all the various committees that regulate things like approaches, displays, etc., as well as having a rep on every accident that involves one of their members) (and I'm not slamming PHPA here - I think they're an important first step)
- and a whole host of other minor things that I hope others will bring up.
The point is that there is much more that contributes to safety in the airline business than is first evident. How much of this do we have to bring in to improve helicopter safety?
(having lit fuse, I will now retire to a safe distance and monitor following explosion)