HeliService International win Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance
 

Competition in the UK HEMS market is increasing with both Gama and HeliService International entering the fray.
Sorry I cannot post the link to Helihub webpage, but
"HeliService Managing Partner, Oliver Freiland: HeliService is proud to be selected to provide the flight operations to Lincolnshire & Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance. For HeliService it is an important milestone as we are entering the UK HEMS market. We thank Lincolnshire & Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance for their trust in HeliService and we will do our utmost to provide the very best service to the Charity and the people of Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.”

That will put many noses out of joint in Staverton [and possibly Farnborough].

The Helihub article also points out that it is our old friend Henk Schaeken behind this deal.

Interesting also on Companies House website for HELI SERVICE INTERNATIONAL LIMITED (12820744)
Registered office address changed from Pegasus House 463a Glossop Road Sheffield S10 2QD United Kingdom to C/O Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance Hems Way, Off Sleaford Road Bracebridge Heath Lincoln LN5 2GW on 22 April 2021.

Isn't that the German operator Heli Services from Emden, breaking into the UK market as the first European operator after Brexit?

Correct, but let's not get started on the benefits of Brexit.

Think that would be a German company with a UK AOC. Aren’t Wiking doing the same?

Wouldn‘t that make them a British operator?

Vorsprung durch Worknick

Hence the UK registered office which would be a prerequisite for UK AOC.

No idea why these charities are outsourcing anyway. As soon as private enterprise comes along, the thieving starts. I would never donate to a charity that utilizes a private operator. For-profit just means everybody at the bottom of the totem pole gets shafted. No doubt they'll publish the rudimentary smiling management team image soon - you know the one, standing in front of the machine looking like Bodie, Doyle and Cowley.

HEMS isn't for amateurs, on this side of the pond anyway. UK air ambulance charities are local charities that just don't have the expertise or critical mass to operate, maintain and fly helicopters to professional standards. They all (AFAIK) outsource operations to companies such as Babcock that specialise in providing air ambulance services. They have a very good safety record: there's been only one crash (that I know of) of an air ambulance helicopter in the UK (Kent Air Ambulance in 1998).

Isnt Devon a stand alone?

But all those charities pay their crews bottom dollar whilst rewarding the 'executives' - I think that's what Sir Korsky is alluding to with the thieving comment.

Not for profit just means you can trouser (sorry, distribute) your funds without pandering to shareholders.

The little cogs never get greased when profit is the driver. Seen it and sick of it. Call it business, but when honestly intended public charitable donations are filling the cess pool, I tend to get mighty aggravated. How difficult can it be? You need a few experienced drivers, a few mechanics and a simple management structure and a ticket. Profit in aviation is the root of all evil.

Devon and Wiltshire are independent. Thames Valley has just advertised for a Chief Pilot position specifically mentioning a transfer to an independent AOC.

Will be interesting to see a new operator in the HEMS market.

Devon Air Ambulance, London Air Ambulance, Wiltshire Air Ambulance and Yorkshire Air Ambulance hold their own AOC.

Isn’t GAMA also a fairly new HEMS operator?

Is this Heliservice‘s first HEMS contract? Not much room in the German market with DFS and ADAC covering almost everything, I imagine.

Heliservice have been working with AW169s for a while and according to heir website they have been working with REGA.
:ok:
Even though they need to employ extra staff to service the AOC it appears many find it cheaper to go for their own.

It is a way of burning all the embarassing bank balances they accrue from good fund raising... it is there to look after them when a 'rainy day' comes along. It saves them even more money overall so they need to buy a bigger or better helicopter and then they need to buy a field for building on and then build a snazzy new base that saves them yet more money.... Along comes a money slowing coronavirus that might be classified as the rainy day so they plead poverty and yet more more comes in... So now what do they do with the bank balance?

Just kidding but it does have some truth in it!

You could remove the "aviation" and insert "business". Remember when our big boss two or three decades ago put out an edict that no one would be getting a pay rise one particular year because of poor returns, he however got a US$2 million raise taking his total take home to US$38 million.

​​​​​​" Greed" is the source of all evil....

Nothing wrong with profit-thats the motivation that drives almost everything.....

Things turn sour when greed takes over, and the one on top has to throw out the golden door handles to replace them with new ones because the old ones are dirty, while the ones at the bottom of the food chain don't know how to pay for their food...

Does Heliservice and Wiking have a UK AOC?

Interesting question - I think Wiking either do or have been applying for one as recruiters on LinkedIn have been trying to find people for Head of Crew Training roles on the H145 in Scotland and the South East.

I suspect HeliServices have an AOC application in, but did pick up on the use of the word cabotage by Rob Bishton in relation to ‘air ambulance’ operations so perhaps they have an agreement to allow some EU based AOCs to operate within the U.K. for a period? I can’t substantiate it, or any potential gains to U.K. operators from such an arrangement, but if true it would appear to present another kick in the teeth from Brexit, and in my opinion a lack of judgement given the lack of reciprocity agreed this far.

The helihub link says “The operator is already on the UK CAA’s list of approved European operators who can fly commercially in the UK” read into that what you will. Heli Service are not listed as having a TCO approval https://www.caa.co.uk/Commercial-ind...-Certificates/


https://helihub.com/2021/04/22/germa...uk-ems-market/“