As a young First Officer in 1978, about to get my command, I was fortunate to attend a dinner where Alan Bristow presided. He look down the large table at me and said "If I was a young man now I would not be setting out in helicopters - the golden years are over" Those words rang in my ears as the margins got smaller and smaller and the competition more various and fierce. Every product has a financial cycle. Innovation is the lifeblood of progress, no major player in the O+G field has realised this and more of the same is no recipe for financial security. Nobody owes you a living. you have to adapt or die.UG
