And clients all too keen to accept such equipment on the basis of price alone.
In fairness, I wonder if the client necessarily has the information and understanding required to make these assessments. It has taken 3 years for the investigator to release this report. Some issues (eg sufficient fuel for OEI) are fairly technical in nature.
Different operators will have different price structures and different profit margins. Is the client really expected to determine the underlying reason for the lowest price? After all, it is a more significant decision that brand name versus no name brand at the supermarket.
The client may well expect that the regulator and operator will ensure that the operator will conduct operations in a safe and appropriate manner.