Could Be,
I quite agree. I was at a product brief for S92 and was frankly astonished by the direct operating cost they quoted - it was much, much less than I expected. Now, even allowing for sales hype & spin, as you say, a modern platform (even one based on UH60) should have cheaper costs - it would be commercial suicide to do elsewise. However, the whole "lets buy S92/EC725/Refurbished Carson SKs" falls down on one essential premise; we are broke for the next EP epoch. To invest in a new type would mean cutting elsewhere - so where? Another pair of GR sqns? A Typhoon sqn? The CH47 new buy? I'd rather we had our own cabs and crews (and a more rotating door from SH) but we cannot afford it. The PFI is just the same as leasing a car from the garage; a bit of legwork and you end up with a Beemer instead of a Ford. Seems that Westlands are lobbying hard for us to buy Ladas though....
Of course Sartoria need to make a profit - how else do you raise the capital to buy the machines and provide a return to shareholders? The question is, can they provide the requisite service and still make a profit? As I said before, the contract puts this risk firmly with them. If it's that unpopular with crews I'm surprised how many have sent Nicky a CV.....