Bristow Group is taking a pragmatic “crawl, walk, run” approach when it comes to incorporating novel advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft into its fleet.
“We’re going to take a relatively small number of these aircraft initially, prove out concepts and prove out the return potential,” Chris Bradshaw, Bristow’s president and CEO, told shareholders during a May 8 earnings call. “But if you look out over the next 10 years, we could — again, could — have numbers in the fleet that are comparable to our existing fleet.”
Bristow’s future AAM fleet could look quite diverse. There are at least seven eVTOL models and one eSTOL aircraft that Bristow has its sights on. The helicopter operator previously forged partnerships with Beta Technologies, Elroy Air, Lilium, Vertical Aerospace, Volocopter, Overair, Eve Air Mobility, and Electra.aero for potential aircraft orders.
“We’re pleased with the partnerships that we signed and some of the leading companies that are developing these products,” Bradshaw told investors. “We’re excited about the prospect of incorporating these new technologies into our fleet for the future.”
The eVTOL startups still have a large certification hurdle ahead of them before seeing their aircraft potentially joining Bristow’s fleet. While delays are common in the type certification of novel electric vehicles, Bristow remains confident that some of these aircraft will be operational by the middle of the decade.
“By the end of this year and certainly by 2025, you will likely see the first of these aircraft certified and available on the market in places like Europe, the U.S., and the U.K.,” Bradshaw said.
Bristow is largely known for its work in the offshore energy sector, along with its government services contracts for search-and-rescue and personnel transportation.
This work is being carried out by Bristow’s existing global fleet of 218 aircraft — largely comprising Sikorsky S-92s, Leonardo AW189s, and AW139s. Bradshaw said the company has received “positive indications” from its customers about incorporating AAM aircraft into its operations.
“Some of the large energy companies that we service have made some very ambitious net-zero targets, so anytime we talk about a solution that will help them achieve their sustainability goals, it’s almost like pushing against an open door,” Bradshaw said. “They’re very keen to talk about those opportunities.”
