US helicopter operator Era Group has said the return of controversial offshore helicopters will be down to “market receptivity”.
The American firm owns nine Super Puma H225 helicopters, which serviced operations in the US, Brazil and Norway.
The aircraft are the same type which were grounded worldwide following a fatal crash off Norway in April 2016, which killed 13 people.
The flight ban, which also applied to the sister AS332 L2 model, was eventually lifted but remained in place in the UK until only recently when aviation watchdogs said the helicopters could return to service if a robust safety case was developed by operators.
In its second quarter results Era Group said since the accident, it was the firm’s understand that H225 helicopters have only returned to service in oil and gas missions “in a few countries in Asia”.
The company added: “Any broad-based return to service of the Airbus H225 and AS332 L2 helicopter models for future oil and gas operations will be impacted by market receptivity, which will be dependent upon the confidence in the safety case relating to the operations of these helicopter models amongst oil and gas customers and the labor unions representing their employees.
“We will not operate the H225 helicopters in our fleet unless and until we can develop a detailed safety case that demonstrates the H225 model helicopter can be operated safely.”
As of June 30, 2017, the net book value of Era’s H225 helicopters and related inventory of parts and equipment was $156.5 million.
In the meantime, the company has operated other heavy and medium class helicopters to service operations.
The firm added: “Although we do not expect the near-term impact of the suspension to be material to our financial condition or results of operations, at this time we cannot anticipate how long the suspension of H225 helicopter operations will last, the market receptivity of the H225 helicopter for future oil and gas operations, the potential impact on residual values of these helicopters and the impact a long-term suspension could have on our operating results or financial condition.”
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