To piggyback Randy D (pun?) regarding flying gigs, the GOM has undergone a massive strategic shift with the advent of deep water drilling technology and the days of little birds dominating the air are gone for the most part. While there is always going to be a place on the shelf for their presence, we are talking significantly dwindled numbers as executed by the B teams ; Westwind, RLC, Panther (?).
The following is what I have heard, but as I am not affiliated with these companies, don't quote me!
- Bristow is most definitely south of 150 pilots total and for whatever this is worth, one of my peers was involved in repo-in one of their 92s last month. Additionally they were looking at another furlough as recently as February when they landed some contract to stave that off
- PHi's ems division made money last year, their GOM component not so much - this according to a mech friend who worked there previously and still has connections. The accuracy co-efficient there being around .75, but the larger message is as previously stated regarding the amount of flying being done by little birds.
- Can't speak for ERA, but I'll hazard a guess that it is the same there.
None of this means there are no jobs or that hiring will stay frozen, but if the past 10 years had the industry in full afterburner, then hiring is definitely at idle for the time being. What I think is the good news is that there has been a dedicated shift to IFR flying which may play out in favor of folks with legit IFR training and backgrounds. That's all of us mofos here! I say this because my company hired a fuckton of people with very thin IFR backgrounds and it shows in the cockpit. Gents, ladies, vegetable matter, you have a skill set in that you are fully informed as an SIC, H2P, co-dude, etc. and this may be a ticket forward when the time comes. Don't get me wrong, our pilots are knowledgeable, can quote the FARs out the yanghole, etc. but there is an element missing from those types when they have not had sufficient time in the left seat. Anyone with a license can fly just about any aircraft or go to school and get typed, wizard'ed up, but the difference lies in the intangibles, the air sense, the ingrained second nature crm habits that we all have. This may be a way forward and I wouldn't shy away from highlighting those things in any potential interview, but not in terms of how much better we perceive ourselves to be versus the straight civilian types. You'll take a faceshot if you do.
This got a little rambling, but please ask any questions and I'll do my best to give an accurate answer.
My background is 14 years, GOM, major oil and gas company, S-92, AW139. Our focus is just about exclusively deepwater and is moving solely to that as far as the grand strategy goes.
The following is what I have heard, but as I am not affiliated with these companies, don't quote me!
- Bristow is most definitely south of 150 pilots total and for whatever this is worth, one of my peers was involved in repo-in one of their 92s last month. Additionally they were looking at another furlough as recently as February when they landed some contract to stave that off
- PHi's ems division made money last year, their GOM component not so much - this according to a mech friend who worked there previously and still has connections. The accuracy co-efficient there being around .75, but the larger message is as previously stated regarding the amount of flying being done by little birds.
- Can't speak for ERA, but I'll hazard a guess that it is the same there.
None of this means there are no jobs or that hiring will stay frozen, but if the past 10 years had the industry in full afterburner, then hiring is definitely at idle for the time being. What I think is the good news is that there has been a dedicated shift to IFR flying which may play out in favor of folks with legit IFR training and backgrounds. That's all of us mofos here! I say this because my company hired a fuckton of people with very thin IFR backgrounds and it shows in the cockpit. Gents, ladies, vegetable matter, you have a skill set in that you are fully informed as an SIC, H2P, co-dude, etc. and this may be a ticket forward when the time comes. Don't get me wrong, our pilots are knowledgeable, can quote the FARs out the yanghole, etc. but there is an element missing from those types when they have not had sufficient time in the left seat. Anyone with a license can fly just about any aircraft or go to school and get typed, wizard'ed up, but the difference lies in the intangibles, the air sense, the ingrained second nature crm habits that we all have. This may be a way forward and I wouldn't shy away from highlighting those things in any potential interview, but not in terms of how much better we perceive ourselves to be versus the straight civilian types. You'll take a faceshot if you do.
This got a little rambling, but please ask any questions and I'll do my best to give an accurate answer.
My background is 14 years, GOM, major oil and gas company, S-92, AW139. Our focus is just about exclusively deepwater and is moving solely to that as far as the grand strategy goes.
