GoodBy Bristow
It was an inspired decision of the people who bought out the original Bristow company to call themselves Bristow and capitalise on the reputation and goodwill that had been built up over the years, and it is obviously still working,... but it can't last forever, can it? What you see is not what you get!
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Holly Beach, Louisiana
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As said earlier in the post....depends upon where in the huge outfit you find yourself. Nigeria certainly would rate right down at the bottom of the Totem Pole probably.....although Fouchon in Louisana is not a garden spot either. If you simply want to go to the Factory everyday....then Aberdeen would fit you to a "T".
I would think the SAR Operations would be the best of what Bristow has to offer.
It pretty much is what you make of it.
Their paycheck shows up on time and you do not have to beat everyone else to the Bank to cash it. That alone in the Helicopter Industry is not a bad thing.
I would think the SAR Operations would be the best of what Bristow has to offer.
It pretty much is what you make of it.
Their paycheck shows up on time and you do not have to beat everyone else to the Bank to cash it. That alone in the Helicopter Industry is not a bad thing.
Seen over a few decades, Bristow in the UK is undoubtedly top of the pile. Having worked for one of the rivals and other companies besides, plus comparing notes with friends who work for the rivals, I feel confident that I've been more than fortunate to spend the bulk of my career in Bristow.
Things really started to look up in the UK operations after the American cousins took over. I hope that Bill's successor can continue the trend.
Things really started to look up in the UK operations after the American cousins took over. I hope that Bill's successor can continue the trend.
Join Date: May 2014
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NAF is a nightmare of confusion & befuddlement; and now a notice that pilots here will have to exchange with Eket over the next few tours, (ASSUMING), we win the Exxon-contract in August, introducing S76-D models?
And admonished also not to make "expensive" holiday plans as the rosters are sure to change.
What we do in worship for the almighty dollar
And admonished also not to make "expensive" holiday plans as the rosters are sure to change.
What we do in worship for the almighty dollar
S76Ds in Eket? I'm not sure that's a sound decision 
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Grass runway still not paved after years yapping about it! (Where do all those locally-grown profits go? Not to the local community that's for sure!) Bags of money still being sent to the "palace" in Uyo one suspects.
Guess that Bristow EXPECTS to win the contract renewal in August; egg on their face and mass desertion to the winning company!
Guess that Bristow EXPECTS to win the contract renewal in August; egg on their face and mass desertion to the winning company!
Nigerian In Law
We Can Only Speak As We Find ?
piper-6, I've been with Bristow for a fairly long time and there have been many ups and downs. Some of the downs have already been mentioned on this forum, e.g. the asset stripping, the personality based "does your face fit" management style etc.
I've seen a lot of people come and go for various reasons, by and large ascribing to the grass is greener theory being the most common motivation. But my own belief is that all big companies aviation or otherwise have peaks and troughs, hence I have stuck with the comfort zone of what I know, accruing some seniority and building up a half decent pension along the way.
Having said that, I'm not sure what I (or anyone else) would expect upon retirement apart from hopefully a decent leaving party with patronising speeches etc ! Even the really senior guys in the old days simply retired; they were sometimes spoken of in either endearing or relieved (thank goodness he/she has gone) tones after they had left but that was all.
Without wishing to start any chest poking/d**k swinging exchanges, what were you expecting Bristow to do when you left that didn't happen and has made you disappointed ?
Cheers,
NEO
I've seen a lot of people come and go for various reasons, by and large ascribing to the grass is greener theory being the most common motivation. But my own belief is that all big companies aviation or otherwise have peaks and troughs, hence I have stuck with the comfort zone of what I know, accruing some seniority and building up a half decent pension along the way.
Having said that, I'm not sure what I (or anyone else) would expect upon retirement apart from hopefully a decent leaving party with patronising speeches etc ! Even the really senior guys in the old days simply retired; they were sometimes spoken of in either endearing or relieved (thank goodness he/she has gone) tones after they had left but that was all.
Without wishing to start any chest poking/d**k swinging exchanges, what were you expecting Bristow to do when you left that didn't happen and has made you disappointed ?
Cheers,
NEO
Last edited by Nigerian Expat Outlaw; 19th May 2014 at 23:42. Reason: Bad grammar and too many commas ! Sorry Alan Biles.......
When I retired from Bristow all those years ago I had a nice letter wishing me a happy retirement and also that I was, according to my rank and seniority, entitled to a leaving present to the value of x.
There then followed an appendum to the effect that as I was based overseas the UK VAT element would be removed from this figure so the result was down about 15%.
I told them not to bother.
There then followed an appendum to the effect that as I was based overseas the UK VAT element would be removed from this figure so the result was down about 15%.
I told them not to bother.
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Never mind my expectations for my post retirement days....I always wondered why it was not necessarily the "cream" that rose to the Top and found a way to stay there far beyond their "Sell by Date".
When a really decent Chap made his way up that very greasy Pole of Management....it seemed they moved on to other places or suddenly found themselves exiled way up in Unst.
When a really decent Chap made his way up that very greasy Pole of Management....it seemed they moved on to other places or suddenly found themselves exiled way up in Unst.
When I retired from Bristow I did not have any letter wishing me a happy retirement. Instead I was bought two pints of beer at the Aberdeen Thistle Airport Hotel and given a photo of my last helicopter type signed around the edges by anyone they could get hold of - including me!
On the up side I will say that for the last 13 years the pension has always arrived on time thanks to the good people at Aon who administer it for Bristow in the UK.
I think people forget that any commercial organisation is really only interested in the bottom line - the staff are sadly expendable. Anyone who thinks that loyalty is a two way thing at some point in their career will probably end up sadly disillusioned, regardless of which helicopter company they work for. I learned that early in my career many years ago when having turned up for work at 0900 I was asked to clear my desk by 1030....but at least I did get a letter from them thanking me for my efforts.
You need have no worries there - the boys and girls at the sharp end, both on the ground and in the air will get the job done to the very highest standards - as they have proved over many years to date.
On the up side I will say that for the last 13 years the pension has always arrived on time thanks to the good people at Aon who administer it for Bristow in the UK.
I think people forget that any commercial organisation is really only interested in the bottom line - the staff are sadly expendable. Anyone who thinks that loyalty is a two way thing at some point in their career will probably end up sadly disillusioned, regardless of which helicopter company they work for. I learned that early in my career many years ago when having turned up for work at 0900 I was asked to clear my desk by 1030....but at least I did get a letter from them thanking me for my efforts.
You need have no worries there - the boys and girls at the sharp end, both on the ground and in the air will get the job done to the very highest standards - as they have proved over many years to date.
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The CLASH: Should I stay or should I go!
It's all about the money, honey.
Since joining Bristow Nigeria not so long ago it seems the "best days" are definitely in the rear-view mirror. (Drinking in bars, half-day rosters, golf trips to Uyo?)
And has anyone seen the disfunction of NAF topped by anything! All the Chiefs and their cults of personality, and circles of psychophants kissing buttock to ensure the weekends off?
AGIP is about to lose both Base Managers.
And if you want to meet the largest number of antisocial nitwits with dirty fingernails, apply for a transfer back to Lagos.
I'm holding out for transfer to Eket when the new contract is awarded in August and they swap B412 for S76; everything I hear about that operation is spot-on and well-run.
If not, vote with your feet; hasta la vista baby. (Lower wages, electricity, wifi, paved-roads, lower wages, security, ATC, self-respect, lower wages, happiness!)
Since joining Bristow Nigeria not so long ago it seems the "best days" are definitely in the rear-view mirror. (Drinking in bars, half-day rosters, golf trips to Uyo?)
And has anyone seen the disfunction of NAF topped by anything! All the Chiefs and their cults of personality, and circles of psychophants kissing buttock to ensure the weekends off?
AGIP is about to lose both Base Managers.
And if you want to meet the largest number of antisocial nitwits with dirty fingernails, apply for a transfer back to Lagos.
I'm holding out for transfer to Eket when the new contract is awarded in August and they swap B412 for S76; everything I hear about that operation is spot-on and well-run.
If not, vote with your feet; hasta la vista baby. (Lower wages, electricity, wifi, paved-roads, lower wages, security, ATC, self-respect, lower wages, happiness!)
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2013
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Goodbye Bristow
Bristow spends a lot of money to publish the Bristow News. Yet no where in there is any mention that the Alaskan branch is being shut down.
All I thought I deserved was a mention that the Alaskan branch had done a good job and a good bye.
I understand that it is a business decision to close the Alaska branch and have no problems with that.
When I retired from the USAF I recieved a going away party and my ID is still good.
Now I am finally retied for good!
All I thought I deserved was a mention that the Alaskan branch had done a good job and a good bye.
I understand that it is a business decision to close the Alaska branch and have no problems with that.
When I retired from the USAF I recieved a going away party and my ID is still good.
Now I am finally retied for good!
Now I am finally retied for good!
When I retired, see above, I walked out of the door, turned around and came back in as a 'Casual Pilot'.
After all those years I had finally been rumbled.
This lasted a year and eventually when I returned to the UK they were hollering down the phone asking me to fly at Aberdeen. This I did for about eighteen months. I was finally released when a jealous chief pilot fired me because he thought I was earning too much money. £300/day as a P2, five days a week. (Plus two pensions)
About a year later I went out to my old overseas operation to find that one of their pilots had done a runner. After a week I was there flying the line, yet again a casual pilot.
Then came the dreaded CAA/EASA 65yr limit.
Go to Oz, there is no age limit there, I was advised, so I did. Twenty eight days later I had an CASA ATPL(MIR) and so I was back at the operation but only permitted to fly the national aircraft. So there I was, being paid by one of the largest helicopter companies in the World but not allowed to fly their aeroplanes.
The work was seasonal but I had an Oz licence. This meant that Bristow (Aus) were interested. So off I went to the Solomon Islands, Karratha and Broome in between the Typhoon season in China.
Finally CAAC insisted that I get a Chinese licence, so I did. I carried on for a further two years before bits of me started wearing out and I finally threw it in.
Apart from some short breaks I flew for Bristow for twenty eight years and thoroughly enjoyed it.
"They just pay you off and cancel your ID"
Mighty Gem is right, that's all the military do, what do people expect? (and I did 32 years!)
I'm so disappointed with the retirement arrangements, I'm just not going to retire! 67 now, no longer flying, its true, but involved in aviation, working with a great bunch of people and, I trust, still contributing. That's the trick - work for your own satisfaction and let the big corporation provide the pay. Usually they get value for money, too.
Mighty Gem is right, that's all the military do, what do people expect? (and I did 32 years!)
I'm so disappointed with the retirement arrangements, I'm just not going to retire! 67 now, no longer flying, its true, but involved in aviation, working with a great bunch of people and, I trust, still contributing. That's the trick - work for your own satisfaction and let the big corporation provide the pay. Usually they get value for money, too.
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AO: Ciao!
Goodbye and best wishes to one of the best at Bristow Nigeria. Moved-up to Training Manager last year and then over to D/HFO recently; a true gentleman with a head on his shoulders. One of the very few in Lagos for sure.
So, now we have no one running either shop. The very definition of a rudderless ship.
I've started buying my gas at CHEVRON in his honor.
So, now we have no one running either shop. The very definition of a rudderless ship.
I've started buying my gas at CHEVRON in his honor.
Nigerian In Law
Loyalty....... A 2 Way Street ?
At the risk of thread creep, there is another thread on this forum started by Good Man In Africa in which I loosely chronicled my recent (victorious) battle with cancer and associated health issues.
In it I also told of how the company in general and certain people in particular "took care of me" during a very long, painful, frightening and life threatening period in my life.
My contract, like every other employee, doesn't have a "personal" clause so I consider myself extremely lucky to have that amount of interest from the very top all the way through to the people I had been working with throughout my treatment.
So when I retire, if I get a decent booze up with someone giving a speech about how great I was blah blah I'll be a happy man ! Sometimes it's OK to tell a white lie or two.........
Cheers,
NEO
In it I also told of how the company in general and certain people in particular "took care of me" during a very long, painful, frightening and life threatening period in my life.
My contract, like every other employee, doesn't have a "personal" clause so I consider myself extremely lucky to have that amount of interest from the very top all the way through to the people I had been working with throughout my treatment.
So when I retire, if I get a decent booze up with someone giving a speech about how great I was blah blah I'll be a happy man ! Sometimes it's OK to tell a white lie or two.........
Cheers,
NEO
Last edited by Nigerian Expat Outlaw; 4th Jun 2014 at 15:23. Reason: Grammar again ! Wish I'd listened to my English teacher.....
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Retirement speeches for current & past BM at NAF don't have many nice things to recite.
Wish that I was here during the time to defend but it's pretty negative; who chooses these guys?
Pilots fly and Managers blow inconvenience; too busy to FLY anymore.
Wish that I was here during the time to defend but it's pretty negative; who chooses these guys?
Pilots fly and Managers blow inconvenience; too busy to FLY anymore.