Helicopter giant Bristow has revealed how Aberdeen is at the heart of its plans for greener aviation.
Bosses from the US company were in the Granite City to meet Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross MP, who safely landed a virtual flight at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI).
Their visit to Scotland also includes meetings with representatives of AGS Airports (operator of Aberdeen International Airport), Highlands and Islands Airports (which runs the terminals in Inverness, Dundee and nine smaller airports across the north), Oban Airport and Scottish Enterprise.
Connecting Scotland the net-zero way
Bristow aims to build a consortium of “strategic Scottish partners in the “aviation ecosystem” for an advanced air mobility (AAM) feasibility study it is hoped will lead to net-zero flights to bolster Scottish connectivity.
The company is working with multiple AAM firms focused on developing smaller, more nimble hybrid and fully electric aircraft which could revolutionise helicopter operations in Scotland.
Bristow says the technology may someday power net-zero leisure and business transportation between Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The Houston-headquartered firm claims it could also boost connectivity between the Scottish islands and deliver more energy-efficient ways of carrying out its cargo and logistics operations around the world.
‘Phenomenal’ potential
“The potential is phenomenal”, Bristow says on its website, adding: “AAM promises to move people and cargo quickly, safely, and quietly at a remarkably reduced cost and low carbon footprint.”
The AAM feasibility study in Scotland is to focus on “both large cargo drone and crewed passenger carrying operations”.
Bristow chief transformation officer and executive vice-president Dave Stepanek, told The Press and Journal the company’s global operations will “evolve” in the coming decades as electrical propulsion technologies are introduced across the helicopter fleet .
As an example of what may be coming in the UK North Sea, where Bristow ferries crew to and from oil and gas installations, as well as renewable-energy projects, Mr Stepanek said getting workers to Aberdeen before and after these flights could change in future as new technologies allow them to travel to and from the Granite City in net-zero aircraft.
Offshore/remote supplies and search and rescue support are other areas where much greener AAM aircraft can carry out a growing number of tasks in the future, he said.
He continued: “We’re meeting members of parliament and others to talk about early use cases for Scotland. We’ll take a pragmatic approach as we bring these aircraft into service.”
Bristow potentially has 450 new technology aircraft from a range of manufacturers joining its global fleet in the coming years, with the first likely to start appearing from 2026, he said. As well as helping towards net-zero, they will be much quieter, he added.
Mr Stepanek and Mr Ross were joined at the helicopter firm’s North Sea HQ by Richard Lapin, vice-president, global affairs, Bristow, and Conservative MSPs Graham Simpson and Tess White.
Hot-on-the-heels of his successful landing at ARI, Mr Ross said: “I’m impressed to see the scale of Bristow’s operation here in the north-east. There is a really positive future for more green forms of aviation and from what I have seen and heard today Bristow is at the forefront of that.”
Bristow currently has 45 helicopters in the UK, including those working in the oil and gas industry and others delivering search and rescue services for the UK Government.
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