Bristow Group

Bristow Group is the leader in global vertical flight solutions offering helicopter offshore oil and gas transportation and search and rescue (SAR) services to civil and government organizations worldwide. The company comprises two heritage businesses: Bristow, founded by Alan Bristow in 1955 to support oil and gas companies transporting crews to rigs in the Persian Gulf, and Era, founded by Carl F. Brady in 1948 to assist federal surveyors in Alaska. The two companies merged in June 2020 to create a financially stronger company with enhanced size and diversification.

Bristow operates a fleet of approximately 218 aircraft suited to meet a broad range of mission requirements featuring the latest generation of technology and safety features. The fleet includes small single-engine helicopters and large multi-engine helicopters. The Leonardo AW139 provides unparalleled mission flexibility and passenger comfort with seating for 12. The 8 ton super-medium class Leonardo AW189 helicopter is designed for All Weather Day and Night, VFR/IFR certified and operates in harsh offshore conditions. The heavy class Sikorsky S-92 helicopter is the most advanced aircraft in Sikorsky’s civil product line, certified to the most stringent safety requirements of the FAA and EASA. As the world’s largest operator of S-92, AW189 and AW139 model helicopters, the complementary model types create a desirable fleet mix providing more efficient solutions for customers.

Bristow provides offshore energy transportation, search and rescue (SAR), government services, unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopter maintenance, modification or repair, pilot training and sales. Since 1971, Bristow has provided SAR services to governments and the energy industry. To date, Bristow has conducted more than 85,000 flight hours supporting over 31,000 SAR missions, during which more than 19,000 people have been rescued or assisted by crews worldwide. Bristow is the provider of helicopter search and rescue services in the United Kingdom on behalf of His Majesty’s Coastguard, employing approximately 360 people and operating from 10 strategically located SAR helicopter bases. Bristow was awarded a £1.6 billion 10-year contract for the Second-Generation Search and Rescue Aviation (UKSAR2G) program by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). In the Netherlands, Bristow provides a 24/7 all-weather search and rescue service under a 10-year contract with two one-year extension options beginning November 4, 2022. In the Dutch Caribbean, Bristow operates from the airport of Hato in Curacao with two AW139 helicopters performing 24/7 all-weather air reconnaissance, law enforcement and SAR capacity. Bristow acquired British International Helicopter Services Limited (BIH) on August 2, 2022, as part of an 18-year partnership with the UK Ministry of Defence in the Falklands, operating more than 110 employees delivering combined search and rescue (SAR) and support helicopter services with two AW189 SAR-configured helicopters and two S-61 helicopters. Bristow was awarded a ten-year contract to provide rotary and fixed-wing aviation services to the Irish Coast Guard in August 2023, with the first Bristow Ireland base at Shannon Airport becoming fully operational with 24/7 capability in March 2025. The transition will see Bristow Ireland operate six specialist SAR-configured AW189 helicopters from dedicated bases in Shannon, Sligo, Waterford, and Dublin, creating or sustaining more than 150 jobs. Bristow was awarded a contract with the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior, to provide helicopters and related services including provision of flight crews, helicopter maintenance and management of flight operations to BSEE and the U.S. Coast Guard for inspection and oversight of offshore oil and gas platforms and vessels located on the Outer Continental Shelf in the U.S. Gulf of America.

Bristow’s commercial SAR footprint includes Norway, Trinidad, Suriname, the United States, and Canada through partnership with Cougar Helicopters. Bristow is also the largest oil and gas SAR provider in Canada through its partnership with Cougar Helicopters, and is the only commercial SAR provider in Suriname.

Bristow Helicopters Australia owns a 100% interest in Airnorth, a regional fixed wing operator based in Darwin, North Territory, Australia, providing charter and scheduled domestic services across the Northern Territory, Western Australia, Queensland and Victoria and internationally to Dili, Timor-Leste. Bristow owns a 40% economic interest in Cougar Helicopters Inc., the largest offshore energy and search and rescue (SAR) helicopter service provider in Atlantic Canada with main operations and headquarters in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, operating a fleet of modern Sikorsky S92 helicopters. Cougar is a Transport Canada Approved Maintenance Organization (AMO) facility performing maintenance services on its fleet. Bristow owns a 25% interest in Petroleum Air Services (PAS), an Egyptian corporation providing helicopter and fixed-wing transportation to the offshore energy industry, with the remaining 75% owned by the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation. PAS is a certified operator of Helicopters and Fixed Wing aircrafts (AOC) and a certified repair station under ECAR 145.

Bristow Helicopters’ simulation hall in Dyce, Aberdeen is the only facility of its kind in the U.K., located near Aberdeen International Airport with simulator purpose-built center featuring full-size helicopter simulators using advanced motion-compensation technology combined with realistic visuals to replicate the experience of flying Leonardo AW189, Sikorsky S-92 and S-76 aircraft. The facility houses three flight simulators, six classrooms and specialist instructors. Bristow holds EASA Part-147 approval to train technicians on Sikorsky S-92A (GE CT7-8) B1 and B2 ratings with course lengths varying from 6 to 7 weeks.

Bristow is a world leader in the installation and use of Health and Usage Monitoring Systems (HUMS), developing the first system, IHUMS, in the early 1990s. Bristow provides specialized technical support services to the helicopter transportation industry including AW139 tailboom repair and jig work, AW139 upper deck replacements, AW139 heavy airframe checks and paint (4-year), AW189 heavy airframe checks and paint (4-year), A119/A109E heavy airframe checks and paint (3200 hr.), Honeywell EPIC avionics upgrades (AW139), Pratt and Whitney fuel nozzle inspections (PT6T-67C, PW206B2, PW206C, PT6T-3B, PT6-3DF), and Fatigue Technology (FTI) Cold Expanded bushings replacement and related 4th axis machining (AW139, AW189) and starter generator overhauls and repairs. Bristow maintains Leonardo Authorized Service Center status (A109E, AW119MKII/A119, AW139, AW189).

Bristow’s Unmanned Aerial Solutions (UAS) use unmanned aerial vehicles and related sensory technologies for multiple applications including inspections, surveys, mapping, and imagery to service numerous industries. Bristow is flying two Schiebel CAMCOPTER S-100 systems following a three-month test program for support of its search and rescue contract with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency for the UK government.

Bristow’s vision is to lead the world in innovative and sustainable vertical flight solutions. Bristow is working to introduce advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft into its fleet in coming years, with announced collaborations with BETA Technologies (developing the ALIA eVTOL), Electra.aero (developing hybrid-electric short take-off and landing eSTOL aircraft), Elroy Air (developing the Chaparral uncrewed eVTOL), Eve Air Mobility (developing fully electric UAM eVTOL), Vertical Aerospace (developing the VA-X4 piloted electric eVTOL UAM aircraft), Overair, and Lilium for Advanced Air Mobility.

Bristow implemented Target Zero in 2007 as its long-term approach to develop a culture of safety at all levels. Bristow completed its first offshore revenue flight using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) on December 10, 2021, marking one of the first SAF-powered flights to an offshore operation in the UK Continental Shelf, with the aircraft flying from Aberdeen to installations operated by bp. Unmanned aircraft began flying as safety overwatch in support of search and rescue missions for HM Coastguard for the first time in 2020.