212man
Of course it was a randomly generated number, this is a rumour network! But, as you say, Bristow has trained a lot over the years.
CBE,
I was never implying that Bristow "picked up the pieces" as a charitable gesture, merely that they were the only company capable of doing so at the time. Of course they charged the market rates and made the required profit.
The days when National pilots had to "workover" to earn a reasonable salary have, I'm glad to say, departed and I, for one, have always advocated equal pay for equal work. Sadly this has not always been the case in Bristow, nor in the past in Aero.
I'm sure caverton would have to step up its game in the face of perfect competition, let's not be too hasty to judge an upcoming company.
Caverton is not quite the new kid on the block that you seem to think it is. They have in fact been around for some eight years now. Long enough to have established a training scheme should they have the desire to do so. The competition is "perfect" for Caverton in that they are not required to be competitive, nor to pass safety audits!
It seems to be fashionable to knock Bristow in order to justify the award of the Shell contract. I believe that Bristow did not lose the contract due to any failings, rather that Caverton won the contract because the time and the political will was right.
I have not found anyone of the "rank and file" of Bristow who has any desire to see Caverton fail. Quite the opposite, many of us have friends both amongst the existing crew and the pilots soon to join. Your point about market forces setting salaries is a good one and can only work for the common good.
I don't know if you are new to Nigeria as things are not always what they seem on this forum but you will find that there have never been any problems between any of the companies here at the operational level and that all work together in the interest of safety in particular.
Cyclic