Bristow Announces Plan to Purchase HAI

[Chopter]

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070301005904&newsLang=en
Bristow Group Inc. Announces Plan to Purchase Helicopter Adventures, Inc.
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bristow Group Inc. (NYSE:BRS), a leading provider of helicopter services and production management services to the offshore energy industry, announced today that it has entered into an agreement to purchase 100% of the stock of Helicopter Adventures, Inc., a leading flight training provider, for approximately $15 million plus debt of approximately $5 million. The purchase is expected to be completed on April 1, 2007 and at that time the flight school will be renamed as Bristow Academy Inc.

[nicksmalley]

Interesting news...I look forward to hearing more about it.

What possible impact could this have on current/forthcoming students?

Any ideas what Bristow plan to do with the school?

[SASless]

The better question is what does this acquisition do for Vortex and the training agreement they have with Air Log, another Bristow Company. It makes very good business sense....they now have a JAR school in the USA and can combine the FAA program with the JAR program and have the real deal.

Throw in some simulators and classrooms....combine all the training for the company worldwide in one place. Perhaps if they purchase a small but profitable airline somewhere.....they then can get ID90 tickets for staff travel and save a bundle.

Now if they used the old Aberdeen trick of putting different logos on the opposing sides of the aircraft....say for instance G-ATOY on one side....and N22AL on the other they would have the bases covered.

What was it....Texaco and Conoco they did that to with the 212 way back when?

[spinwing]

Sounds like a plan????
Only thing to sort out now is the tricky biz of getting a student Visa!
Cheers :yuk:

:E

[Rushes]

This looks like great news for both HAI and Bristows, lets just hope that HAI keeps a little of its own character......

HAI has released a statement on their website,

http://www.heli.com/helicopter-news/PressReleaseHAI-Bristow.php

Congrats to all.... :ok:

[SASless]

Perhaps the little birdie was right.....Vortex is being purchased by Bristow.

A very shrewd move.

[Ullevi]

Please let there be a return of CPL sponsorship
Please let there be a return of CPL sponsorship
Please let there be a return of CPL sponsorship

:D

[BaronG]

Hmmmm.

I suspect the way it will work is that the hopeful will pay and at the "end" of the training, if they're picked up by Bristow will get some kind of refund. That seems to be the model doing the rounds at the moment.

Who knows, maybe they'll make instructing there part of the career path :)

BG.

[cougar77]

I believe most of us guessed the reason as to why Bristow bought HAI. Announcement of confirmation is out.

Rotorcraft Report: Bristow Group Buys Flight School, Sets Up Training Academy</SPAN>

<H2 class=subhead>

</H2>HELI-EXPO 2007
In what may have been the most intriguing development of this year’s Heli-Expo, Bristow Group struck a deal to buy one flight school and said it is looking at taking over another to get back into the training business.
Bristow President and CEO Bill Chiles, said the offshore-services company was to buy Helicopter Adventures by the start of this month for $15 million and the assumption of $5 million of debt. The flight school, which operates in Titusville, Fla. and Concord, Calif., will be renamed Bristow Academy. Calling it "both a strategic move and a sound investment," Chiles said the idea came to him when he realized the integral part it played in training Bristow’s cadre of offshore pilots.
"We’ve been talking about the pilot shortage," he said, "but we weren’t doing anything about it."
"For the first time in many years, I now have a boss," joked Patrick Corr, Helicopter Adventures’ president and founder. "
Bristow is also in talks with New Iberia, La.-based Vortex Helicopters to acquire that flight school and incorporate it into Bristow Academy. Vortex works closely with Bristow’s Air Logistics’ unit, also based at New Iberia, to supply offshore pilots.
Helicopter Adventures was founded in 1987 in Northern California. Demand for charters was weak, but requests for flight instruction soared, leading Corr to retool the operation as a helicopter flight school. The company eventually became the first to be certified under both FAA (http://www.aviationtoday.com/search/?query=FAA) and European Joint Aviation Authorities regulations.
Bristow Academy will continue to use Schweizer 300CBis and 333s and Robinson R22s for primary training. Vortex would add 18 Robinson R22s to the academy’s fleet. — By Ernie Stephens

Bristow Will Need 900-1,000 Pilots</SPAN>

<H2 class=subhead>

</H2>Still wondering why Bristow Group bought the flight school Helicopter Adventures back in January? The big offshore operator sees a real shortage of pilots in the coming years, the result of normal attrition and the retirement of post-Vietnam-era pilots who started out in the military. Bristow CEO Bill Chiles told The Houston Chronicle July 10 “we're going to need about 900 to 1,000 pilots to fill our seats over the next five years. It's a big, big problem for us.”

What's next............Sponsorship?????

[Bravo73]

What's next............Sponsorship?????


Not for as long as there's a queue of people willing to pay for it themselves. Which there is.

[cougar77]

Then again since Bristow having invested $ in the school. They would not want to see these guys crossover to other companies. It just does not seem to be good business sense if this happens.

However, if Bristow offers these newly trained guys a slot in exchange for a bond then Bristow's competitors have something to think about really hard. Poaching with $$$.

Whatever the case, hope it will have some positive effects on helicopter pilots pockets.

[nicksmalley]

What's next............Sponsorship?????

I agree with all those urging to be a little realistic. Seeing as the airlines have only really just moved into a situation where 'training is paid for' (by bonding your life away), sponsorship for the rotary industry is probably still very far away. Due to the cyclic, short sighted nature of the oil industry, Bristow's main customer, I struggle to see the day where sponsorship returns.

IMHO, it would simply be nice if the big three made more effort to mentor young guys into the industry. I don't want their money, it would be nice, but I've made the effort to generate the required funds myself. Would it not be beneficial to the heli companies to reach out to those willing to pay for their training, identify training risk early by standard assesment techniques, and for those successful, offer a job on a provisional basis if CPL(H) + IR all go well. There's no increase business risk to them, just better communication between to employer and potential employee.

Maybe wishful thinking...

Cheers

Nick

[L A James]

All,

In light of Bond's recent decision to provide sponsorship programmes for 2007 - 8, has anyone changed their opinions on the possibility of Bristow starting sponsorship?

Or, even better, has anyone heard anything more on the grapevine?

L A

[africacorps]

And where are they being trained,Bristow Academy!