TM a little patronising and disingenuous. The oil companies get what they demand from their contractors. If an invitation to tender is sent out for passenger transport, the operator who said "we can give you an (eg) EC225 for $x but it can only carry 16 passengers" would not get the contract. It would go to the operator who said "we can give you an EC225 for $x and it will be able to carry 19 passengers on your route".
So to downsize the number of passengers is only within the power of the contracting oil companies, not within the power of the contractors. It is the oil companies who have dragged their heels on this, trying to minimise the cost of transportation (because they are run by accountants just like the operators) and now that there is a mood change, they are finally being dragged screaming into reducing the number of pax carried which is of course going to cost them more, and increase business for the operators.
To try to make out that this is somehow the operator's fault is transparently pathetic. You convince no-one except yourself, and your reputation suffers as a result.