Bristow Norway AS (formerly Norsk Helikopter) is a Norwegian helicopter company that transports crew to oil installations in the North Sea. It has headquarters in Stavanger and has additional operations out of Bergen, Florø, and Hammerfest. The company operates a fleet of 24 Sikorsky S92 helicopters and has 420 employees.
The company has contracts with all the oil companies operating on the Norwegian shelf for crew change flights. In addition it operates SAR aircraft out of Ekofisk and Hammerfest.
History
Offshore helicopter transport in Norway was traditionally dominated by Helikopter Service. By the late 1980s three competitors were established, Lufttransport, Mørefly and Braathens Helikopter, but by 1992 Helikopter Service had bought all three. Both the authorities and the oil companies wanted multiple operators to stimulate competition. Norsk Helikopter was incorporated in 1993 to fill this gap. It was initially owned as a joint venture between Andreas Ugland and Bristow Helicopter, with the Norwegian shipping billionaire owning 51 percent. This resulted in a close technical cooperation with Bristow's other helicopter companies. The company was established with a fleet of Aerospatiale AS332L Super Pumas.[1]