CHC/Bristow touring positions

[Lplates]

Dear All

I am currently in a full time Aberdeen crew change role. I was hoping to encourage a few words from people with touring positions with either of the above companies. On a bit of a fact finding mission so particularly interested to here from people who have recently joined. I will obviously talk to the companies directly also!

Of particular interest:

People with their family home in the UK, does it work?

Short notice operations, ie 'tomorrow we need you to....'

Any surprises, things which seem common place you didn't get told at the begining.

Many thanks in advance for you comments

Lplates

[MyTarget]

What's a "touring" position? I fly to North Sea decks from Aberdeen and I never heard of such a thing. We employ permanent pilots and contract pilots; that's all.

What are you talking about! :eek:

He must want to leave ABZ and start touring............ I think that's the question being asked.

Don't just look at CHC/Bristow.

Its a mind set "touring"; you will either like it or not. 4 or 6 weeks away means that amount of time at home. But get a hobby or it will bore the t*** off you being at home for so long.

[Lplates]

Have a look at the recruitment pages of the respective companies and you will see touring IFR captain/co-pilots positions.

'Touring' meaning can be sent to various bases where your company has contracts.

[MyTarget]

I was referring to post #2 in part.

[Lplates]

Mytarget

Filling my time will not be a problem!

Like everyone else just trying to get that work/life balance right, but mainly live where I want to live.

Any insight you may have would be very kind.

Regards

Lplates

[Camp Freddie]

Lplates,

I have never done it but known several who have

pro's:
new challenge
"interesting places"
new colleagues :)
potentially better net salary if local taxes paid by company
no national insurance to pay
can live anywhere in world

cons:
6 weeks is a long time away if you have wife and kids
potential tax problems if paperwork not right
stop earning benefits from NI, state pension etc
gross salary probably lower than ABZ
less salary increments each year than at ABZ
adverse exhange rate movement risks
can be hard to come back to North sea if you ever want to
no control over where they send you
depending on who you work for, do you like Nigeria?
time off no better than you have now
some companys safety practices not as good as CHC/Bristow

can be a good move for some people in some circumstances,
e.g. high time co-pilots who are keen for command.

CF

[Epiphany]

If you are adventurous, adaptable, flexible, willing to 'muck in' and are familiar with the third world then the pros will far outway the cons. If you complain in the ABZ crewroom about your latest roster change, like wearing white gloves or have not ventured beyond Ibiza on your travels then there may be a few more cons than pros. The above post by Camp Freddie is a good guide too.

[Aerobot]

Great! Where do I sign? :ok:

Seriously, a touring job with CHC sounds like exactly what I'm looking for. The trouble is, I keep getting deselected for any kind of consideration because I don't have the oil rig landings. I've got eight years of EMS work, about 4,000 hours PIC, multi-engine, operating out of tiny LZ's in the dark, landing on tiny pads sticking out from or on top of hospitals. No, they weren't oil rigs - but I've yet to see the helicopter than can tell the difference.

I'd be fine with starting as an SIC - I'd expect to. Is there any way to get a live person at CHC to read my CV?

[pasptoo]

Have you tried walking in off the street? I know a few guys who have been hired by CHC and others, primarily because they had the "get up" to go for some face time!

Good Luck

[Epiphany]

The trouble is, I keep getting deselected for any kind of consideration because I don't have the oil rig landings.

If most of your flying has been EMS I would think your problem might be lack of a medium/heavy type rating? CHC Global have hired many people lately with no offshore time but they all have relevant type ratings.

Take a look at the CHC careers page and you will see that the vacancies are all type specific. If you have S76, AW139 or AS332L type ratings then you are eligible to apply. If not then your application will be ignored.

[soggyboxers]

Lplates,

I have had various 'touring' positions with Bristow, Schreiner, CHC, ADA for over 30 years now in locations including the Middle East, to Indonesia, Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroun, Chad. Whether you are likely to move to different countries depends to some extent on which company you work for.

Talking specifically CHC/Bristow as that is what you have said you are interested in; with CHC you tend to be moved after a few years, whilst with Bristow you tend to end up staying with one business unit.

With both companies your total salary depends on which country you are working in. With Bristow, Nigeria pays best as it has the highest allowances. You can indeed live where you like, but remember that if you're on a 6 weeks/6weeks roster you will spend more than 90 days a year in UK if that is where you are resident and that means you will pay tax. With Bristow your salary will be paid in US$ and with CHC in CAD$, so it depends what you think the exchange rates will do in years to come. You can continue to pay your UK national insurance benefits to preserve what remains of the UK state pension and both companies pay for private health insurance for you (and you can get a discount in rates for your family). You can reduce your UK tax liability to zero by either spending at least 90 days of your time off outside UK or by moving to a different which has a kinder tax regime (many other pleasant countries in Europe will allow you to spend 180 days there with no tax liability). Your salary will be paid into an offshore account but you will be liable to sort out your position with the revenue. I have been in Nigeria for a number of years and we have a mix of Brits who either pay UK tax, live in UK but spend only 90 days there, live in other tax-friendlier European countries such as France or Spain.

An offshore oil rig is an offshore oil rig anywhere in the world and although many touring positions are in warmer climes, they are not necessarily friendlier due to other weather factors or security concerns. However, a 6/6 roster does give a lot more flexibility to get away for at least 2 or 3 weeks out of UK with your family, even if you have children who tie you to school holidays.

I tried some years based in the UK both living at home and touring whilst based offshore in the North Sea, but overall prefer the financial benefits of overseas touring with reasonable time off.

If you'd like more information please feel free to PM me.

[industry insider]

LPlates

Soggy and Camp Freddie have good advice. There is one more + with touring, you get to move away from Aberdeen and the daily tedium of bashing up and down radials. CHC would probably be more interesting as they tend to move you around as required so you get to fly and spend time in more places.

[Lplates]

Gents

Many thanks for your replies.

Food for thought!....