Rotary-wing subsidiary of the state airline, is sold for ?13.5 million in July 1986 to this organization, jointly formed by British publisher Robert Maxwell and two Scottish newspapers, the Scottish Daily Record and the Sunday Mail. Succeeding Michael Graham-Cloete when SDR Helicopter, plc. completes the takeover on September 26, Laurence Middleton is appointed managing director, with Stewart Birt as operations director.
Headquartered at London (LGW), BIH maintains bases at Aberdeen, Sumburgh, Penzance, and Beccles. The workforce totals 500 and the fleet comprises 30 helicopters. Previous routes and services are maintained, including the Sikorsky S-61N scheduled flights linking Penzance with the Scilly Isles. The sale includes transfer of some ?9 million for BIH employees from the pension funds of British Airways, Ltd. (2).
Emphasis on charter support of the North Sea oil industry is continued, with 26 aircraft active in the market, even as that industry enters into recession. During September, when Shell Expro is forced to remove its floating hotel, the Treasure Finder, from its Brent Field, BIH must call back two of the three S-61Ns which had been supporting it from Sumburgh, Shetland Islands.
Less than 5 miles from Sumburgh Airport on November 6, a Boeing Vertol Model 234LR Civil Chinook, with 47 aboard and inbound from Shell Expro’s Brent oil field in the North Sea, crashes into the sea (45 dead). Not only does the carrier immediately ground its Civil Chinooks, but Shell Expro cancels its contract with BIA, causing fiscal difficulty. Since its introduction by BAH in July 1981, the carrier’s Model 234LRs have transported a total of 604,000 passengers over 4 million revenue miles.
Operations continue apace in 1987 with Capt. C. H. “Kit” Chambers as general manager. After a complete in-house review of the Civil Chinook, Shell Expro, fearing an employee backlash against the type, awards BIH a new support contract in mid-June covering its transportation requirements in the East Shetland Basin region. The Model 234LR is specifically excluded as 4 Sumburgh-based S-61Ns are designated to undertake the work; fixed-wing flights will also be provided to and from Aberdeen.
Although its 4 remaining Civil Chinooks continue to be kept out of offshore support operations, they are employed on several other missions. One such mission is the 40-mile airlift of a 7-ton yacht. Stranded in Chichester Harbour by a hurricane that swept the southern U. K., the boat is taken to a shipyard on October 16. One unit is dispatched to Spain in November to transport car components from a Spanish factory to a dockside on behalf of Ford Motor Company. En route back to the U. K., the aircraft flies via Lyon so that a French ski lift owner might evaluate it for possible purchase.
During the first quarter of 1988, General Manager Chambers moves up in the Maxwell aviation structure and is succeeded by former Royal Navy Capt. Robert McQueen. Construction on Shell Expro’s Eider and Tern production platforms in the East Shetland basin beginning in the spring leads to an increase in the Aberdeen-based fleet from 4 to 6 S-61Ns. At the same time, the airline’s helicopters are all painted in a new livery (white bottom, blue top, red cheatline separating the two).
In April, a contract is received to provide Super Puma service on behalf of AGIP in the North Sea while another energy support contract, for S-76 flights, is obtained from Occidental Petroleum.
Since the fatal crash 18 months earlier, the company has been unable to employ its 3 Civil Chinooks in operations other than heavy-lift assignments. In late spring BIH awards Aberdeen-based Nash Helicopter Associates a contract to sell the machines. The company’s Chinook simulator is sold to the Ministry of Defence. With no buyers stepping forward by the end of June, the carrier allows 2 Civil Chinooks to fly passengers on a revenue contract with Cabair. With champagne breakfasts before liftoff, blocks of 40 travelers fly to and from the British Silver-stone automobile race during the first weekend in July.
On June 1, the last pegs in the 17-year link between British Airways Helicopters, Ltd., BIH, and Total Oil Marine Engineering and Construction, Ltd. are removed. The latter gives Bond Helicopters, Ltd. a five-year, ?25-million award to not only support Total’s Alwyn North platform, but the MCP01 pipeline pumping station and its exploration rigs as well. To handle what is thought to be the second largest contract in the U. K.’s North Sea oil business, Bond will continue to commit a minimum of 3 AS-332L Super Pumas.
Also during June, the company establishes a new world record for passengers carried over the Scilly Isles route by one helicopter on one day; shuttling back and forth between Penzance and St. Mary’s between 0645 and 2040, the S-61N Isles of Scilly transports an amazing 730 passengers.
When a new Shell Expro contract begins on July 1, the company, in need of additional capacity, brings its fleet of Super Pumas to 5. Purchased from the former Okanagan Helicopters, Ltd., now the western division of Canadian Helicopter Corporation, Ltd. (CHC)
For C$4.5 million, is one AS-332L, while another arrives new from its manufacturer. The third is leased long-term from Helikopter Service, A. S. of Norway.
While over the North Sea on July 13, the engine of an S-61N with 21 aboard catches fire, requiring the aircraft to make an emergency ditching. Before the Sikorsky sinks, all of the travelers safely evacuate and are rescued by a coast guard S-61N operated by Bristow Helicopters, Ltd. Also in July, when the Piper Alpha offshore rig explodes, company helicopters provide SAR assistance.
In two trips on the same August day, an S-61N lifts the 60-ft. long trimaran The Spirit of Apricot from its dockyard at Easton-in-Gordano, Bristol, to the docks. Also during the month, the company is awarded a three-year contract by Sun Oil to support its Balmoral Field in the North Sea. The arrangement replaces a contract previously held by Bristow Helicopters, Ltd.
In September, a Civil Chinook installs 13 treatment plant process tanks; the helicopter is able to reduce the construction phase of this project by half. Following vibration and an oil leak, an S-61N with 13 aboard ditches in the North Sea 100 mi. NE of Aberdeen on October 16. Although all aboard are rescued, the helicopter sinks before it can be salvaged.
Only Japan’s Aero Asahi Corporation has expressed any major interest in purchasing the carrier’s Civil Chinooks, but no sale can be arranged. Late in the year, officials from Columbia Helicopters sign a letter of intent to take over the giant helicopters. The last U. K. mission of the Model 234 occurs in December when a machine lifts 200 huge boulders that are used to repair a sea wall along Britain’s southern coast.
The fleet of the 400-employee carrier in 1989 includes 14 S-61Ns, 4 S-76As, 3 Westland W-30s, and 5 Aerospatiale AS-332L Super Pumas. In February, the sale of the Civil Chinooks to Columbia Helicopters is completed; the arrangement, with spares, is worth between $20 million and $25 million. The first Model 234 leaves England on the 17th, with the other two following at monthly intervals.
In March, the S-61 at Aberdeen completes its 10th year of work, having flown some 21,000 hours. The six-days-per-week roundtrip service from Penzance to the Isles of Scilly now celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary. In the previous year, the service has transported a total of 87,683 passengers. A new route is now opened from Penzance to Tresco.
In May, the company is awarded Sovereign Oil’s Emerald Field contract, which will be supported by an S-61N from Sumburgh. Through the first six months of the year, enplanements are up 7.4% over the same period a year earlier to 38,547.
Airline employment stands at 480 in 1990 and, following the addition of 2 more S-61Ns to the fleet, the company averages 24 aircraft active in offshore support roles.
Following the loss of 2 of 8 mooring cables from the accommodation rig Safe Gothia in the East Shetland Basin on January 9, 8 S-61Ns and 3 Super Pumas, flying in storm-force winds and darkness, evacuate some 400 oil workers to nearby platforms or Sumburgh.
While preparing to land on the Brent SPAR tanker-loading installation in the East Shetland Basin on July 25, the tail rotor of an S-61N carrying 2 pilots and 11 passengers strikes a crane structure A-frame. The contact causes the aircraft to drop 50 feet onto the helideck and then topple another 105 feet into the sea; it sinks within one minute (six dead). Although the U. K.’s eighth S-61N ditching since 1970, it is the first fatal occurrence and it leads to several wildcat work stoppages while oil workers, politicians, and union leaders discuss safety reforms for offshore employees.
Passenger boardings for the year ascend 2.6% to 234,650.
Another Super Puma is added to the fleet in 1991 and, early in the year, flights are started to and from Newquay. As the result of another downturn in the demand for offshore oil-support, the company is forced to layoff 24 pilots in October, along with other nonflying staff.
During the first 9 months of the year for which statistics are provided, records show that customer bookings are up 5.4% to 81,248. Cargo falls 15.4% to 11,000 FTKs. Following the death of Robert Maxwell, the carrier goes into receivership with the rest of Maxwell Aviation International Group on December 12.
The workforce is sliced 21.2% in 1992 to 382. With the death of owner Robert Maxwell, his entire financial empire is ruined, including BIH, now forced into Administration—the U. K. equivalent of Chapter XI bankruptcy in the U. S. During the first quarter, purchase bids for BIH are received from Bristow Helicopters, Ltd. and Bond Helicopters, Ltd. The former offer is withdrawn in July as the two proposals are referred to the U. K.’s Monopolies and Mergers Commission for approval.
Meanwhile, over the objections of Bond and bidders that include KLM/ERA Helicopters, N. V., Evergreen International Airlines, and Lloyd Helicopters (Pty.), Ltd., a joint buyout team from BIH management and Canadian Helicopter Corporation, Ltd. receive U. K. approval and CAA licenses in August to form two BIH subsidiaries. The establishment of BIH (Isle of Scilly), Ltd. and BIH (North Sea), Ltd. are part of a complicated effort by CHC to secure a better position in its attempt to buy the administered helicopter line.
Also during the summer, 60 employees are laid off from the Aberdeen base and Oxford headquarters. On the other hand, Shell Expro increases its S-61N fleet usage at Sumburgh to six aircraft and delays for three years its decision to replace the type with Super Pumas leased from
Bristow Helicopters, Ltd.
On October 22, Trade Secretary Michael Heseltine, acting on the recommendation of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission, informs Bond Helicopter executives that it is not in the public interest for Bond to acquire BIH. Both Bond and BIH indicate displeasure and Bond joins Bristow Helicopters, Ltd. as a former suitor.
On December 1, it is announced that the management buyout team from Canadian Helicopter Corporation, Ltd. and BIH, together with the British merchant bank of Brown and Shipley, Ltd., has secured sale of BIH from its court-appointed administrators. Both the bank and Canadian operator are required to pay $8 million each for matched 40% stakes, while BIH managers acquire 20% shareholding. On December 8, the Department of Transport voids the August licenses for subsidiaries and requires reapplication.
With its main base at Aberdeen and with other facilities at Penzance, Beccles, Farnborough, and Sumburgh, BIH continues to operate 26 helicopters in support of the North Sea oil industry. Passenger boardings for the year slide 7.5% to 87,725.
Brintel Helicopters, Ltd., the official name of the CHC-banking partnership, completes purchase of the carrier and its assets out of administration on January 27, 1993. Major shareholders in this $45.5-million buyout and refinancing deal include the Canadian Helicopter Corporation, Ltd. (80%), British venture capitalists, and the new company directors; BIH will be allowed to trade under its previous name.
Brown Shipley executive David Wills becomes chairman and Stewart Birt is named managing director. The fleet comprises 15 Sikorsky S-61Ns, 1 Sikorsky S-76A, and the original 5 Aerospatiale AS-332L Super Pumas. The lone Westland 30 is returned to its manufacturer on March 19, at which time airline employment stands at 382, many of whom are also shareholders.
Also in March, the reorganized company wins its first major new contract, a three-year support pact from Elf Enterprise Caledonia, Ltd. During May, two S-61Ns are assigned to the Elf contract. Later in the year, upon the commissioning of two more Elf platforms, an AS-332L Super Puma joins the fleet and is dedicated to the new operation and 40 laid-off workers are recalled.
Through September, customer bookings fall 6.7% to 69,371. In October, the company’s S-76As are sold to Canadian Helicopter Corporation, Ltd., while an S-76A+ is chartered from Germany’s Wiking He-likopter Service. Revenues for the year’s first 10 months total $56 million and leave a $6-million net profit.
During January 1994, Canadian Helicopter Corporation, Ltd. purchases 100% interest in BIH for C$27 million as its chairman/ CEO, Craig Dobbin, obtains Irish citizenship to help satisfy U. K. and EEC ownership requirements and, additionally, 10 million new shares are issued to BIH administrators. Employment at the fully owned Canadian subsidiary is increased by 9.5% during the year to 460 and 7 AS.332L Super Pumas are added to the fleet.
In February, a yearlong contract is obtained from the United Nations to support its aid operations in Mozambique. Five Super Pumas are delivered from London (STN) to the African nation within five days of the arrangement’s completion aboard an An-124 of Heavylift Cargo Airlines, Ltd.
In March, the Civil Aviation Authority agrees to let the Canadian Helicopter Corporation, Ltd. purchase stand. In April, the company hires 12 pilots and 12 engineers, who are dispatched to Mozambique to fly 5 Eurocopter Super Pumas on a long-term UN contract. The thirtieth anniversary of the Penzance to St. Mary’s route is celebrated on May 1.
During the summer, Managing Director Birt establishes a business development center in Camberley, Surrey, to examine the possibilities of diversification into other civil and military markets. Traffic figures are once more provided for the first nine months and show passenger boardings recovering, growing 4.3% to 74,352. When CHC management elects to refocus on the company’s core business of North Sea offshore support and scale back the new Camberley center, Managing Director Birt resigns on October 11. He is succeeded by chemical engineer David Wood.
At year’s end, in light of changing offshore-oil work patterns, company officials begin to worry over the renewal of the five-year Shell Ex-pro contract due to expire the following June 30.
The workforce does not change in 1995. The concern that Managing Director Wood continues to lead maintains its emphasis on aerial support of the North Sea oil industry and to offer scheduled service from Penzance to the Scilly Isles.
Following the January 19 ditching of a Bristow Helicopters, Ltd. AS-332L.1 in the North Sea after a lightning strike, BIH, after consultation with the Civil Aviation Agency in March, joins with that rival, as well as Bond Helicopters, Ltd. in a voluntary agreement to prohibit flights in actual lightning conditions. Aircraft will either be diverted around such areas or not allowed to depart.
At the beginning of May, KLM-ERA Helicopters (UK), Ltd. wins its first major North Sea contract, a three-year award from Shell Expro for support of its activities in the southern sector. The contract, formerly held by BIH, will require assignment of 3 Sikorsky S-61Ns and an S-76. Still, BIH is able to retain the major share of the new Shell Expro awards, winning the energy concern’s two other contracts worth $97 million. Under the first, 7 S-61Ns will serve the East Shetland basin from Sumburgh while 2 or 3 AS-355L.1 Super Pumas will fly under terms of the second in the central North Sea area from Aberdeen.
Through September, enplanements inch up 0.8% to 74,908.
On October 1, the company unveils a new livery and shortens its marketing name to British International. While the red, white, and blue colors remain, the standard British lion logo is replaced with the hummingbird logo of parent Canadian Helicopters, Ltd.
Airline employment declines 14.1% in 1996 to 395 and the fleet now includes 8 AS-332L Super Pumas, 1 AS-332L-1 Super Puma, 2 Sikorsky S-76A+s, and 15 Sikorsky S-61Ns, one of which is leased to Court Helicopters (Pty.), Ltd. in South Africa.
Despite significant competition, during the first quarter the carrier is able to gain a three-year renewal of its Elfo support contract; the company will continue to support this energy operation with Super Puma flights from Aberdeen.
The company now forms a new subsidiary, Flight Handling, Ltd., to provide airport management, aircraft ground handling, freight movement, and passenger logistics. It will receive 3 sizeable contracts within the next 10 months.
Deputy Managing Director Paul Conway succeeds Managing Director David Wood on June 19. On September 1, the Enterprise Oil Super Puma support contract is extended for another three years, as of October 10, with two further one-year extensions possible.
Cardiff-based Veritair, Ltd. is acquired on October 31.
In early November, the company enters into a strategic alliance with Forde, Norway-based Airlift, A. S. Its Canadian parent, Canadian Helicopter Corporation, Ltd., takes 10% equity in Airlift, with the later acquisition of 23% more a possibility. The carrier also wet-leases a Eurocopter AS-332L.1 Super Puma from CHC for the coastguard contract.
In December, the two-year Talisman offshore support contract to provide flight services to the former British Petroleum-owned North Sea fields is won away from Bond Helicopters, Ltd. and Bristow Helicopters, Ltd. In reaction, Bond Helicopters, Ltd., acting on behalf of its new partner, the Norway-based Helikopter Service Group, challenges the operator’s right to a U. K. operating permit, claiming that less than a third of BIH is owned by European Union nationals. Bond hopes to show that such a minority shareholding exists and that BIH is in violation of U. K. and EU laws. A London High Court agrees to a judicial review.
Piloted by expatriate U. S. Vietnam veteran Capt. James Spyker on behalf of Airlift, A. S., the AS-332L.1 is no sooner brought to Svalbard, still in BIH livery, than it is called upon to perform a dramatic rescue. On December 23, a Russian Antonov An-72 with 22 passengers crashes while taking off from Nagurskoye in the Franz Josepf Land archipelago, then a military reserve. Unable to dispatch a rescue mission from Murmansk, the Russians seek assistance from Norway. The new civilian SAR team at Svalbard is assigned the mission, which, in turn, tasks Capt. Spyker and his powerful helicopter.
With a medical team aboard, the Super Puma, with a crew of seven, a doctor, and a nurse, departs in -35° C weather for Nagurskoye at 00:10 a. m. on Christmas Eve. Due to bad weather, the helicopter must fly to Kong Karis Isle for refueling before proceeding 232 nm. to the Russian crash site. After three hours of medical work on scene at Nagurskoye, the refueled AS-332L returns to Svalbard with the three most seriously injured Russians. The success of the Nagurskoye mission further cements good relations between the governments of Russia and Norway, assists Airlift in its goal to acquire additional SAR contracts, and deepens the commercial relationship between that company and BIH.
For the year as a whole, BIH passenger boardings soar 19.5% to 103,690.
Airline employment grows 1.3% in 1997, up to 400. Two S-61Ns are withdrawn early in the year. On January 9, BIH is formally awarded the two-year contract (with an optional year’s extension) by Talisman
Energy (UK), Ltd. to provide helicopter support of the energy concern’s North Sea drilling operations at the Beatrice, Buchan, and Clyde fields. The new deal will be supported with AS-332L Super Pumas, Sikorsky S-61Ns, and S-76+s out of Aberdeen.
Early in the first quarter, Airlift, A. S. purchases another Super Puma from BIH and has it modified at the Eurocopter facility at Marignane, France. Special attention is paid to the addition of avionics that will allow the helicopter to find fuel deposits that the company has stashed at various refueling points. It returns to Norway to join the leased unit at Spitzbergen.
Somewhat later in the spring, BIH acquires Cardiff, Wales-based Ver-itair, Ltd., a small operator specializing in police support. It is the first BIH move into the rapidly expanding U. K. onshore helicopter market.
On July 1, Bond Helicopters, Ltd., a subsidiary of Helikopter Services, A. S., challenges the ruling of a London court concerning a 1993 determination by the Civil Aviation Authority that BIH complies with applicable U. K. and European licensing regulations with respect to ownership nationality.
Flights continue apace during the second half. Following the deaths of 12 people when a Norwegian Super Puma crashes during a routine flight over the North Sea, all 37 British Super Pumas, including the 9 flown by BIH, are grounded indefinitely on September 12. Spokesmen for the three helicopter companies which fly Super Pumas from Aberdeen issue a joint statement to the media that the aircraft will not restart until appropriate safety inspections have taken place. Five days later, the Super Pumas are back in the air.
Having reviewed the Bond claim, the CAA informs CHC that it has advised the U. K. Secretary of State of its belief that the nationality requirements have not been met and that BIH’s license may be revoked.
After length discussions, CHC, on December 10, enters into an undertaking with U. K. authorities whereby the issue may be resolved. CHC issues additional equity share capital to a company indirectly owned by Craig L. Dobbin, a citizen of both the Republic of Ireland and Canada, which in turn buys into BIH.
For the year as a whole, customer bookings climb 2.1% to 105,875.
Flights continue in 1998. In February, former Bristow Helicopters, Ltd. director Tony Jones, who had resigned the previous summer, takes a job as a line copilot with BIH.
On March 27, Bristow wins a ?175-million, 7-year contract from Shell Expro for operations in the central and northern North Sea, effective July 1, with support flights from Aberdeen and Shetland. The contract had previously been held for 31 years by BIH (and its predecessors) and, in fact, made up more than half that operator’s business. Bristow also wins a ?50-million, 5-year contract from Shell Expro to work on that oil company’s southern North Sea fields, flying to them from Norwich and Den Helder in the Netherlands.
Top BIH executives meet in Aberdeen on March 30 to decide future strategy in light of the loss of the Shell Expro contract. In an interview with that city’s Press and Journal, Managing Director Conway admits that the Shell Expro decision had come as a big surprise—and quite a shock—to BIH. Conway and his lieutenants begin a series of consultations with company staff and unions, including the British Airline Pilots Association and the Transport and General Workers’ Union.
Meanwhile, the CEO of BIH parent Canadian Helicopter Corporation, Ltd., Rudy Palladina, resigns in a move described in the press release as having come because of disagreements over the long-term direction of CHC. Loss of the Shell business is not mentioned.
Former Bristow executive Tony Jones is promoted to senior pilot at Sumburgh at the beginning of April. For the rest of the month, many of the 350 workers employed by British International fear for their jobs, until an unexpected turn of fate brings some relief.
On April 27, the Ministry of Defence transfers the contract for helicopter support to the Falklands Island garrison from Bristow, which has operated it since the end of the 1982 war with Argentina, to BIH. However, the deal will not make up for the Shell Expro shortfall at BIH and many employee jobs remain in jeopardy.
On May 1, Sumburgh Chief Pilot Jones is named the company’s flight operations manager. He succeeds Steven Stubbs, who has been assigned to special projects prior to his July retirement. Jones, whose star is rising fast, becomes commercial director in late June. At the same time, Managing Director Conway is succeeded by Neil Calvert.
Two BIH Sikorsky S-61Ns replace Bristow’s rotary-wing assets in the Falkland Islands on July 1. Simultaneously, Bristow Helicopters, Ltd. begins to satisfy the Shell Expro contracts in the North Sea. For the contract based out of Aberdeen, the company hires 30 more engineering and administrative staff and 30 pilots, while another 20 ground staff and 20 pilots are taken on by Bristow for the southern contract. Many of the new pilots had previously flown for BIH, but had lost their positions in the wake of the Shell contract loss.
While preparing to land at Aberdeen Airport after an August 26 return from the Ocean Princess drilling rig, an S-61N, with two crew and eight passengers, suffers a control failure and goes into a spin. The Sikorsky, skillfully handled by its pilot, is put down without further damage and no injuries are reported by any of the 10 people aboard.
Preparations are now made to celebrate the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Penzance to St. Mary’s, Scilly Isles, route the following year. The route provides the world’s oldest scheduled helicopter service and is fully and enticingly described when Canadian Helicopter Corporation, Ltd. opens a British International-Penzance homepage on the Internet’s World Wide Web on September 21—Http://www. chc. ca/bipz.
In November, options are taken on 5 Bell Agusta BA-609 tiltrotors, the civil version of the military Osprey now under development. The request, part of a 10-ship deal made by the CHC parent, is designed to assist in the long-term restructuring the carrier’s fleet. Initial deliveries are expected during the summer of 2002.
During the 12 months, passenger boardings accelerate 4.7% to 111,000; 53,000 FTKs are also operated.
The Aberdeen (Scotland) Press and Journal reports on January 12, 1999 that the Canadian Helicopter Corporation, Ltd. has purchased a package of 5.1 million shares in Helikopter Services, A. S. Group. The 25% stake in the Norwegian operator, valued at a “knock-down price” of ?16 million (NKr 40 per share), is acquired from an institutional investor via the CHC Norwegian subsidiary Vinland Helicopters. The purchase makes CHC the largest shareholder in HAS, as well as its subsidiaries, Bond Helicopters, Ltd. and Australia’s Lloyd Helicopters (Pty.), Ltd.
An additional 5% stake in HSG is acquired on March 24, together with controlling interest. Interviewed by the Press and Journal, He-likopter Services Group Chairman Reidar Lund indicates that the action is regarded as an “unfriendly takeover” attempt. CHC Chief Financial Officer Jo Mark Zurel discourages “takeover speculation” and claims the share purchase is a moneymaking exercise.
On April 14, Reuters, Ltd. publishes news that CHC will bid 45 crowns per share for the remaining shares in Helikopter Services, A. S. Group and that the official offer will be released within a week, again through its Norwegian subsidiary, Vinland Helicopters. After a preliminary discussion, the Norwegian operator indicates that the offer, compared to booked capital, is too low.
BIH Managing Director Calvert announces on April 23 that his concern has signed a five-year contract (with an option for three one-year extensions) with Maersk Olie og Gas, A. S. in Denmark. Under terms of the agreement and beginning on July 1, BIH will employ two Super Pumas, an S-76A+, and a back-up helicopter to service the Danish Underground Consortium offshore oil and gas exploration operated by Maersk on behalf of itself and its Shell and Texaco partners.
CHC counters the HSG concern on April 26 with an offer, via Vin-land, of NKr 45 per share for the remaining shares. The purchase would be subject to successful completion of a due diligence review and government approval. A statement from CHC also indicates that the offer is conditional upon Vinland gaining a minimum of 90% of HSG stock.
Following another rebuff, the offer is increased to NKr 60 in early June. CHC obtains 90.2% of the shares in HSG on June 25. The takeover brings concern to workers at Bond Helicopters, Ltd., which is now renamed CHC Scotia, Ltd., that many may lose their jobs if the new owners elect to merge their concern with BIH, which CHC already owns.
Acting through Vinland Helicopters, Canadian Helicopter Corporation, Ltd. is able to announce on August 2 that the remaining conditions to its offer to purchase all shares in Helikopter Services Group, A. S. have been satisfied or waived and that the acquisition is completed. CHC now finds itself with two major U. K. rotary-wing subsidiaries.
The BBC reports on September 13 that BIH and CHC Scotia, Ltd. are, in fact, combining their operations at Aberdeen Airport. Some 71 permanent and 23 temporary positions at the carriers will be lost by November and upwards of 100 positions overall.
Enplanements for the year increase by 9% to 121,000.
On January 26, 2000, the U. K. Department of Trade and Industry and the Competition Commission both clear the merger of CHC’s UK operations and those of Helikopter Services Group, A. S.
Working with the Welsh Development Agency, the U. K. managers of BIH open negotiations with their parent organization, Canadian Helicopter Corporation (CHC), during the first quarter concerning a possible management buyout. With the acquisition of Bond Helicopters, Ltd., now CHC Scotia, Ltd., BIH has become the redundant U. K. subsidiary (publicly referred to as a noncore operation in the United Kingdom) for the giant North American concern.
A satisfactory arrangement is concluded on May 17 under which BIH, sold for $51 million, once again becomes the largest U. K.-owned helicopter operator. The Canadian corporation’s U. K. offshore activities will now center fully on CHC Scotia, Ltd.
Trading as British International, Ltd., the new company retains or acquires from CHC 6 Sikorsky S-61Ns, 2 Eurocopter AS-365N2 Dauphins, and 2 light helicopters. The scheduled passenger service to Penzance is maintained, as are operations for the Ministry of Defence in Plymouth, England, and the Falkland Islands. Light helicopter operations are also undertaken in Cardiff.
BRITISH ISLAND AIRWAYS, LTD. (1): United States (19701980). Complete with new logo, livery, and uniforms, this regional carrier is formed on July 20, 1970 as successor to British United Island Airways, Ltd., itself founded in the 1963 merger of Silver City Airways, Ltd. and Jersey Airlines, Ltd. Although associated with BUIA, BIA is excluded from the November amalgamation with Caledonian Airways, Ltd. BIA is now owned by the British and Commonwealth Shipping Group (91%) and the Eagle Star Insurance Group (9%).
On April 1, 1971, a new route, flown by Handley Page Heralds, is opened in cooperation with Sabena Belgian World Airlines, S. A. from London (LGW) to Antwerp. An Antwerp-London (LHR) service is simultaneously started on behalf of the Belgian state carrier. Hurn-Channel Island flights resume in May 1973, but are suspended for the winter in late October. On November 1, twice-daily replacement flights for Caledonian Airways, Ltd. are initiated between London (LGW) and Manchester.
Flights from Hurn to the Channel Islands resume in the spring of
1974. The final DC-3 flight is completed on May 30. The fleet now comprises 12 Heralds, one of which, with 54 passengers, groundloops at Jersey on December 24 and breaks in two; there are no fatalities.
During 1975, Managing Director C. P. W. Villa’s company undertakes night newspaper runs to Ireland and a variety of charter flights. Between 1976-1979, a 2,900-mile route network of U. K., Northern Ireland, French, Channel Island, and Dutch destinations is completed. The fleet during this period includes 6 DC-3s, 6 Handley Page Heralds, 4 BAC 1-11-416s, and 3 BAC 1-11-432s. The latter are named Island Envoy, Island Endeavour, and Island Esprit.
On January 4, 1980, BIA is one of four small airline partners merged to form Air U. K., Ltd.; the amalgamation results in the total absorption of the former independent and the disappearance—at least temporarily—of its name.
BRITISH ISLAND AIRWAYS, LTD. (2): United Kingdom (19821990). Chairman/Managing Director Peter Villa and BAC 1-11 Pilot/Marketing Director Roy Hope launch a new British Island Airways, Ltd. in early 1982 and purchase Air U. K., Ltd.’s charter division. With money and 4 BAC 1-11-432s — 3 of which are named Island Envoy, Island Endeavour, and Island Esprit—borrowed from the British and Commonwealth Shipping Group, contracts to fly inclusive-tours to Mediterranean resort cities are recruited and begin from Gatwick Airport on April 1.
An interline arrangement with Air Florida is made to feed the American carrier’s passengers bound to Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, and Dusseldorf. Enplanements total 350,000. Expecting a loss, the company actually turns in a small ?28,000 ($33,600) profit for the first year.
In 1983, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher leases a BAC 1-11-432 for her reelection campaign. In May, a BAC 1-11-416 is acquired under charter and named Island Ensign. The profit climbs to $699,600.
Air Florida’s collapse in 1984 forces BIA to seek other interline and charter arrangements. Two ex-Cayman Airways, Ltd. BAC 1-11-500s are purchased at Miami and, upon upgrade, are placed in service in the spring. The Island Esprit is leased to Airways International CYMRU, Ltd. for the eight months after April 1.
An interline deal is worked out with Virgin Atlantic Airways, Ltd. to feed its Continent-bound passengers to and from Maastricht, Holland. Back from its previous charter, the Island Esprit is assigned to undertake this task.
The Virgin Atlantic Airways, Ltd. contract is completed in August 1985 and not renewed. Two BAC 1-11-400s are leased to Air U. K., Ltd. as holiday charter and inclusive-tour flights to points in Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Middle East continue. Among the most romantic operations are 3, 10-day “air cruises” to Egypt designed to evoke the nostalgia of the days of Imperial Airways, Ltd. The company goes public and its profit reaches ?1.1 million.
In January 1986, BIA’s hush-kitted BACs have no difficulty meeting tough new noise regulations. The carrier applies to the Civil Aviation Authority for permission to introduce “seat-only” sales on all charters out of London. The profit level grows by ?500,000. Charter operations continue apace in 1987 as the first two leased McDonnell-Douglas MD-83 s are placed into service and there is a ?1.9-million profit.
The fleet in 1988 totals 4 BAC 1-11-400s, 4 BAC 1-11-500s, and 3 chartered MD-83s, the third arriving in November. The MD-83s allow nonstop services to such destinations as Tel Aviv, Turkey, Luxor, and the Canary Islands. In the spring, scheduled service is inaugurated to Palermo and Catania in Sicily.
Enplanements total 1.5 million, but expenses cause the airline a $4.9-million net loss.
The fleet in 1989 includes 6 BACs and 4 leased McDonnell Douglas MD-83s. In June, the company joins with SAS Service Partner, a subsidiary of SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System), to develop the joint venture enterprise In-flight Services International, Ltd., a 6,000-sq.-ft. flight kitchen located at London (LGW).
Losses for the first half-year total $8.3 million and continue to deepen throughout the remainder of the year. The company’s shares are temporarily suspended in November, but, in December, a consortium of financiers concludes a restructuring of finances in a sale-leaseback arrangement. A cash injection of $33 million is pledged, of which $21 million will repay existing loans, leaving the remainder for use as working capital.
Unable to continue as a result of the severe downturn in the British package tour industry, BIA-2, with debt equivalent to $17 million, enters receivership on February 1, 1990. The receiver, Touche Ross, is forced to immediately lay off 420 of the carriers 500 employees and eventually sells off the entire airline.
World History
