PAVCO: 1110 26th Ave., NW, Gig Harbor, Washington 98335, United States; Phone (253) 851-5577; Fax (253) 851-8709; Year Founded 1983. Pavco is established at Gig Harbor, near Tacoma, in 1983 to offer passenger and cargo charters to small, nearby communities. By 2000, Charter Manager Mike Pickett oversees the work of 3 full-time pilots and the operations of 3 Cessna 172 Skyhawks, 1 C-206T Stationaire, 1 C-337 Super Skymaster, and 2 Piper PA-23-250 AztecFs.
PAWAN HANS HELICOPTERS, LTD.: Safdarjung Airport, New Delhi, 110003, India; Phone 91 (1) 461-5711; Fax 91 (1) 461-1801; Http://www. pawanhans. com; Year Founded 1985. Originally incorporated in New Delhi on October 15, 1985 as the Helicopter Company of India, Ltd., the carrier is reformed in 1988 and renamed Pawan Hans Helicopters (pawan hans is Hindi for “swan of the skies”). Shareholding continues to be held by the Indian government, 78%, and the Oil & Natural Gas Corporation, Ltd. (ONGC), 22%. The company still offers both offshore oil industry support and passenger flight-seeing tours in the mountains to the north of the country.
The company initially selects the Aerospatiale AS-365C Dauphin as its helicopter, but an offer from the U. K. government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to the Indian government of Rajiv Gandhi leads to a split order and results in the company and the government acquiring 21 Westland 30s as well. The British-made helicopters are paid for out of a ?65-million foreign aid line.
Upon their arrival, the Westlands are put into service in support of a contract from ONGC. One is lost in a fatal crash before the end of the year.
Flights continue in 1989. On December 11, a Westland 30 transporting 11 ONGC personnel is involved in an accident; 5 people are seriously hurt and the aircraft must be written off. This is the second serious accident this year.
At the end of December, it is reported that the company may purchase 12 Bell 214STs or Aerospatiale AS-332L Super Pumas for use in its long-range offshore support operations, railway support, and high-altitude missions.
On January 2, 1990, the carrier grounds its Westland 30s. Indian Air Force Mil Mi-8s and Mi-17s are pressed into service to visit the offshore oil platforms until the suspect helicopters can be inspected and placed back into service.
On May 21, Dr. Hussainy, Director of Technical Development & Production (Air) of the Indian Ministry of Defence submits a report on the Pawan Hans operation to the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation. In it, he finds the company “unprofessional in many areas,” especially maintenance. He is also critical of Westland and of the Westland 30’s engine manufacturer, Rolls Royce.
As a result, the ONGC contract is terminated and half the Pawan Hans fleet is grounded. The Indian Air Force is once again called upon to employ its helicopters to visit the ONGC rigs and Air Commander C. M. Singla, a 27-year Indian Air Force helicopter veteran, is named managing director.
At the end of the year, only the Dauphins and six Westland 30s are in service, primarily being employed on tourism and railway support within India and on communications flights in the Himalayas.
The concern’s 19 Westland 30s are grounded on February 10, 1991. Following a review by the Civil Aviation Ministry, the company is informed in June that it will no longer be able to employ the type. Westland studies the crashes, furnishes on-site expertise to Pawan Hans, and offers operational suggestions. The grounding, nevertheless, continues. At this point, the company is again reformed and the ONGC acquires a 49% minority stake.
With the 19 Dauphins and 3 new Bell 206L LongRangers, Pawan Hans is able to resume its upward climb later in the year and into 1992. A new contract is received from the National Thermal Power Corporation to undertake power line inspections, while the ONGC again finds favor with the company and allows Pawan to conduct pipeline surveys. Law enforcement support work is found in the Punjab, a medevac service is flown in the coalfields in Nagpur, and Aerospatiale Lamas and Ecureuils are flown on behalf of the Ministry of the Environment and the Gas Authority of India, respectively.
Having recovered from the damning 1991 report, Pawan Hans establishes a helicopter training academy and its maintenance activity becomes a profit center. By the end of the year, the carrier, in a nation where there are less than 50 civil helicopters in operation, the company is the major rotary-wing operator on the Indian subcontinent. Total revenues reach Rs 955.3 million ($23 million).
In 1992-1996, PHL enjoys its greatest success in the offshore oil sector. The Dauphin 2s remain in the air an average of 15,000 hours per year for the ONGC, serving the 150 rigs operated in the main tract 200 km. from Bombay, plus other installations off Madras and Vijayawada in the southern part of the country. Use becomes so intense that, at one point, 86 landings are made within a week.
The company also continues to grow in the area of passenger transport, particularly in those regions with an inadequate surface transport infrastructure. Six Bell 206L-4 LongRangers are acquired to meet this need as the Westland 30s remain grounded for lack of a buyer. Until they are sold or returned to service, the company sustains a Rs 16-million ($461,000) annual write-off.
Revenues during the latter year reach Rs 1851 million, while profit hits Rs 461 million.
The inaugural customer service is flown in June 1993 and links the Himalayan shrines of Badrinath and Kedarnath (at the 11,000-ft. level) with the tourist resort of Dehra Dun. Thereafter, a scheduled network is established in the state of Sikkim and flights are conducted between its capital, Gangtok, and outlying helipads in local communities. Short-haul charters are also operated from Bombay and Delhi to other major Indian cities.
In addition to these services, three Mi-8s are acquired to offer new flights in the Lakshadweep Islands and throughout the northeastern state of Nagaland. The operations are modeled on that offered in Sikkim. Eventually, the Westland 30s are returned to service and no further problems are encountered with them.
Operation of these services is sometimes spotty and government subsidy is not always very generous. Consequently, revenues drop to Rs 1517 million. Still, Rs 619 million in profits are reported.
During the spring of 1997, the company enters into negotiations with the Indian government to take over emergency air services from the Indian Air Force in the northeastern state of Arunanchal Pradesh. A further plan is put forward to passenger network linking the other northeastern states of Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Nagaland.
By 1998, the fleet of Managing Director Singla includes 19 SA-365N Dauhpin IIs, 19 Westland 30s, and 3 each Bell 206L-4 LongRangers and Mil Mi-8s. Plans are made to acquire four heavy helicopters and two lighter machines with which to undertake the expansion noted above. Among the candidates are the Mil Mi-17, Bell 407, and Eucocopter AS-350B-2 Ecureuil. Two Bell 407s and three Mi-17s are eventually selected.
During the closing ceremonies of August 13-14 marking the fiftieth anniversary of India’s independence from the U. K., Pawan Han provides free joyrides for 200 underprivileged and handicapped school children at New Delhi and Bombay. Civil Aviation Secretary P. V. Jayakrishnan presides over the function at New Delhi. Shri Kulwant Singh Kohli, Sheriff of Bombay, inaugurates the flights from his city.
It is reported on November that, since its start-up, the company has achieved 2.25 million flight hours.
Airline employment stands at 780 at the beginning of 1999; Pawan Hans, the largest rotary-wing operator in India, has a net worth of Rs 2732 million and equity capital of Rs 1137 million. Services provided include offshore support, interisland transportation, customs and pipeline surveillance, search and rescue, passenger charter and flight-seeing, policing, VIP transport, aerial photography and filming, flower dropping, and customized services.
Major customers include the ONGC, the governments of Punjab and Arunachal Pradesh, Oil India, Ltd., the Gas Authority of India, Hardy Exploration, Indian Customs, BSF, and the Lakshadweeep Administration.
Flights continue in 2000.
PB AIR, LTD.: 101 Sunset Road, Bangkok, 10300, Thailand; Phone 66 (2) 669-2066; Fax 66 (2) 669-2092; Http://www. pbair. com; Code PBA; Year Founded 1990. Tycoon Piya Bhirombhakdi establishes this carrier at Bangkok in 1990 to provide regional flight services for executives of his Singha Brewery. Passenger flights begin and continue with a Socata TBM700.
In October 1996, PB Air takes delivery of a Dornier 328-110; the first of its type to feature a quick-change interior, it is initially configured for use as a 20-seat corporate aircraft.
In November 1997, chief pilot Capt. Anusorn Singhagajen indicates to the media that his employer will begin scheduled flights in early 1998. He notes that the company may only fly to destinations not served by Bangkok Airways, Ltd. or Thai Airways International, Ltd.
With the completion of the new airport at Bangkok, Dornier 328-110 scheduled service to Chumporn, 170 nm. S of the capital, is inaugurated in March 1998. At the end of May, arrangements are completed that will allow the airline to provide feeder service on behalf of Angel Air, Ltd. On behalf of Angel, flights are inaugurated in June from Bangkok to Chiang Mai via Udon Thani.
The company’s air operator’s certificate is upgraded at the beginning of 1999 as Jothin Pamon-Montri becomes president. Scheduled jetliner flights from Bangkok to Roi Et begin in early March with a fleet of three Fokker F.28-4000s first flown by SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System). Later in the spring, new frequencies are offered from Khon Kaen to Chiang Mai. The Dornier returns to its earlier corporate role following completion of its last revenue flight on October 31.
Service is maintained during the remainder of the year and into 2000. Scheduled destinations visited from Bangkok include Chiang Mai, Chumphon, Khon Kaen, Krabi, Roi Et, and Udon Thani.
In May, Angel Air, Ltd., teetering on the brink of collapse, cancels its long-term agreement with PB Air. PB Air, for its part, turns around and initiates its first scheduled international route, operating its F.28-4000s daily from Bangkok to Singapore via Krabi. This new schedule is reduced to four times a week in mid-August. .
On August 21, PB Air files a breach-of-contract suit against Angel Air, Ltd. and additional charges for passing nearly 20 million baht in bad checks to it for lease payments. PB Air is the first creditor to take action against troubled Angel. The matter is kept quiet until revealed by the Bangkok Post on October 17.
The Fokker route from Bangkok to Singapore via Krabi becomes a daily service once again on October 28.
World History
