Dough.....some things in the helicopter business do not change....ever.
That is the balancing act between misery, miserableness, and manning.
When they can no longer Man the Operations....things will improve....but not until then.
I shall take you back many years....when the discussion was going on about changing to an equal time roster rather than the 8/4 week roster that had been in existence ever since Bristow started it. Mike Norris, who is a very nice fellow summed it up...."When will we go to equal time....only when we can not Man the Operation on the 8/4." He did not mince his words...did not say that except in a straight forward business like manner....as it was the established company management policy.
The fact all our customers and even our competitors were on equal tome rosters meant nothing. The almighty Dollar....then Sterling is what mattered.
In the end....it is all about money....if one is happy with the money....then misery is of no matter.....but the instant the money fails to compensate....there will be a period of turnover which is acceptable until the beds start going empty and aircraft stop flying. Then....magically...all sorts of money pops up out of the ground to pay for whatever it takes to get the situation back under control.