Bristow Group announces long term contracts

Bristow Group Inc. has
announced that it has secured several major new multi-year contracts for the
provision of a total of 20 large aircraft that are expected to generate in
excess of $2 billion in revenue.

In Europe, Bristow has been particularly successful with a number of wins
including the extension of an existing contract in Norway for four S-92 large helicopters
that is expected to start in September 2014 for a further seven-year term with
the option for an additional five-year extension, a new contract award for the
provision of Norway search and rescue (SAR) services using three new Eurocopter
EC225 helicopters that is expected to commence in September 2014 for a period
of five years with the option for an additional five-year extension, and a new
contract award for one S-92 helicopter in the UK North Sea that commenced work
in July 2012 and one EC225 helicopter that is scheduled to start work in August
2012 for a minimum of two years.

In Australia,
INPEX has awarded Bristow a ten-year contract for up to six EC225 helicopters
to support drilling, development and production operations on the Ichthys
Project.  INPEX also has an option to add a long term SAR aircraft. 
This new contract is scheduled to begin in 2014 and reinforces our long term
commitment to the Australian market.

William Chiles, president and chief executive officer, said, “We are very
pleased with our recent commercial successes, which extend and enhance the
pricing and terms of existing contracts and add new high-value long term
contracts, for both crew change and SAR services.  These contracts
strengthen our position with key customers in several of our targeted growth
areas. Our Client Promise initiative incorporating our unique Target Zero
Accidents, Zero Downtime and Zero Complaints programs is becoming a clear
differentiator in our industry, and we are pleased that our clients are
recognizing the added-value of this initiative.”

In Brazil,
Lider has been awarded five-year contracts by Petrobras for five Sikorsky S-92
large helicopters. One of these aircraft is leased to Lider by Bristow and is
scheduled to start work in August 2012, and the remaining four aircraft are
scheduled to commence work by April 2013.

Mark Duncan, senior vice president commercial, added, “These multiple new
contract awards with better pricing and terms than in the past are part of the
increase in demand we predicted.  Our focus on providing clients the
safest, most reliable and best service has positioned us well for further
profitable growth as the market continues to strengthen.”

Terry Spruce

Terry is Senior News Editor and writes for both Corporate Jet Investor and Helicopter Investor. He is also responsible for our helicopter guides. Terry has been an aviation enthusiast since the early 1970s. He is a lapsed Private Pilot and ex-Piper Cherokee owner. He has flown a number of light aircraft and is comfortable sitting in the co-pilot's seat or the back of any aircraft. Before moving to journalism he was a banker for 20 years. You can contact him at: terry@corporatejetinvestor.com or follow him on twitter @Terry_Spruce

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