Thanks for posting the link guys - interesting development indeed. Wonder why they pulled out in the end?

I think I could make a good guess........

and where does this leave Drakens helicopter business?

Well it is a rumour network after all Crab - go for it ;)

Simon K - if you knew who I worked for - well until the end of the year anyway - you would probably guess where I would point the finger................

I have no idea who you work for Crab...not to worry was just curious anyway. I'm sure it will all come out in the wash soon enough.

Well if you are in partnership with a company who has a spineless leadership team and can't manage important contracts properly - including being very disingenuous with the customers - wouldn't you pull the pin if you had an international reputation to protect?

Ok I get the picture, cheers :)

Guess you’re not referring to Draken pulling the pin…🙄

well said Crab! Not much left for their rotary business now!

Boom, mike drop, leaves the room...

Brilliant! Care to offer an opinion on the plank side of the company or shall we apply carte blanche there also?

Draken have just informed staff that they are pulling the pin on all their helicopter contracts

What ? the Dutch Antilles and Cyprus?

wow - glad I did nt get the job with them now (they have operations in W Mids as well)

You dodged a bullet there. When Cobham bought FB Heliservices they kept the same incompetent management- this was a fatal mistake. Draken bought a business that was terminally ill, run by bullies and arrogant narcissists.

I feel for the guys losing their jobs, but they will hopefully find some comfort in the fact that anyone else will be better to work for.

Where is the 'Like' button?

Don’t know just how bad that operation was, but be careful, they might not be the worst . . .

Bullying and arrogant narcissist management. Hmmn, bit of an industry pandemic right there. Sadly, the cuckoos are sure to inculcate themselves into a new nest and muck things up anew.

I am expecting an Invitation to Submit Final Tender is being issued this month. That sort of timing would mean that by the end of May it is more or less all over. At that point, an internal review and assurance process is due to take place. We should expect the award letters to go out around late August which triggers a stand still period (10 days? 3 weeks?) after which a public announcement will be made.

Lots 1, 2, and 4 are now whittled down to BHL and EEA (CHC).

Lot 3 (FW & UAV) was 2Excel, EEA, and Elbit but I have no idea if that has been reduced further at the final stage. Anyone know?

Forgive my naivety, and my wish to draw conclusions based on the wisdom of the other forum members, but I don't have much knowledge on UK SAR.

Is there a clear "favourite" to win the contract? I understand BHL have been running the UK SAR contract recently, and I believe have been doing a good job of it? Is there any reason why they wouldn't / shouldn't win the contract again this time around?

But then again, I believe EEA / CHC also run SAR in Ireland, so it's not as if they have no experience in the matter.

Any info and thoughts appreciated!

BHL do SAR in the UK, northern Norway, Netherlands and elsewhere. Incumbent contractor. Bristow SAR

CHC do SAR in Ireland, contracts about to start in parts of Norway, and elsewhere. They had the UK contract for 4 HMCG bases from 2007 to 2013 and 2 of those until 2015/17 (lower spec than current UK SAR). CHC SAR and EMS.

In 2018/19, Qinetiq's Post Implementation Report examined the implementation of the current contract. There wasn't much wrong.

The UK Govt have let about 20 contracts for SAR helicopters since 1971 and only 4 of those have been won by companies not called Bristow.

They do a very good job on the coal face, no doubting that.

The balance sheet on the other hand...

Are they providing the service they were contracted to provide, at the price that was agreed? If so, then that sheet is balanced. (How it affects the overall government finances is a different matter).

Awarding a contract to the lowest bidder does not necessarily result in the best value for money. If the contractor is unable to fulfil the contract, it may result in penalties to the contractor, but also results in the customer not getting the required level of service.

....and you cannot levy penalties on a company if they have gone bust!

A UK business with only £1.68bn of debt on the books. What could possibly go wrong?

https://www.energyvoice.com/oilandga...business-debt/

It was clear from the Bristow Group numbers during the early period of the contract that UK SAR was bringing in an important slice of reliable revenue without which the entire group may have had a very different future. As time went by it was clear that Baliff and co-conspirators were presenting an alternative reality in the books with things like SAR aircraft purchases being reported as shifted out impossibly far into the future. The way things turned out, that alternative reality must have stretched across the entire group.

With their six decades of experience of oil and gas ops, I am moderately confident in the ability of BHL and the usual suspects to take advantage of recent oil price changes.

you could always go with one of its competitors.


https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSL4N2PK1GS

Anybody care to comment/speculate on rumours that CHC are no longer in the bid process?

"What is the Black Spot, Captain?"


Actually, the decisions should have been made by now for all the lots. Lot 1 - quick response helicopter, lot 2 - long range helicopter, lot 3 - FW and UAV, or lot 4 - combined.

My last estimate of the detailed timeline reads as follows.

Evaluation of Final Tenders - late May 2022 (so, decision made, but not declared to parties?)
Government Internal and Assurance Process - late May to late Aug 2022
Award Decision(s) Finalised - late Aug 2022
Standstill Letter(s) Issued - late Aug 2022
Contract(s) Completed With Supplier(s) - Sept 2022 (and announcement)

I am expecting the 'assurance process' to be in the traditions of the current government and take at least a month longer. However, the MCA/DfT have kept it on track so far which means they have already made their choices. These processes have certainly been known to leak in the past. :rolleyes: They have also been known to leak incorrectly. :E

CHC-out would mean Bristow win at least Lot 1 and Lot 2. The question then is Lot 3 (FW/UAV) or Lot 4 (Combined).

[Reminder.
There have been about 20 SAR helicopter contracts let by the UK government since 1971. Only three of those have been won by companies not called Bristow, or subsequently bought by Bristow.]

I'm hearing that too