i think some people are getting confused here !! There is a great difference between what a helicopter costs on say SFH and what it would cost to charter . Yes i could get a 206 for around £400 an hour wet but by the time it comes out of an aoc company they will be losing money at £500 an hour WITHOUT pilot . If you lease an aircraft from me it will be significantly cheaper than if it goes out as a charter ..this is due to the nonsense made up by the CAA to try to justify their existence ( and after all of that you will find that the flight cannot happen due to the lawn not being the size of a football pitch so not suitable for a single ...) As an example an Enstrom 480 Turbine will cost around £300 per hr wet to the owner , (maybe £350 sfh ) which i think is good value against any turbine fixed wing !!!
In my experience the USA has always been cheaper than the UK .