What cost PH Hems Helis
Peter-RB, Each lift-off isn't an isolated incident.
There are many costs involved in an HEMS operation, from paying pilots to come in on their off-day for a safety meeting (How much did THAT cost?) to the thankfully rare, once in a while accident.
Over the period of a year, an HEMS company's income needs to exceed it's cost of operation.
Look at it this way. The pilots and med crews were already on duty, so there's no extra cost there. The mechanic will perform the 100 hour inspection a little earlier. So the real cost is your hourly direct operating cost for the helicopter, and not the thousands of dollars/pounds/rand that the operator normally charges to transport a patient.
It's just an incidental expense in the cost of doing business.