Offshore helicopter operator CHC is investing around £5million in the future of North Sea operations.
In a massive vote of confidence in the long-term prospects of the mature oil and gas basin, the firm has streamlined operations at facilities in Shetland and unveiled huge renovation plans for the north-east.
Among the proposals, now with Aberdeen City Council’s planning department, is a revamp of the CHC terminal at Dyce.
The terminal will be kitted out with new lounge areas for passengers, more natural light, and an overall improved customer experience, according to CHC’s regional director for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Mark Abbey.
Energy Voice was given an exclusive behind the scenes tour of operations in Sumburgh, where Mr Abbey revealed his ambitions to become the number one offshore helicopter provider at the Granite City’s busy heliport.
Mr Abbey said: “One of the key things that we looked at as we started to develop this process was the passenger experience.
“Passenger experience is key to us. They are the most valuable cargo we carry. They are why we are in business.
“So what we’ve done through this process is try to enhance that experience as much as possible.
“Back in Aberdeen we have started to make changes in our CHC terminal but there is a lot more to come.
“We are looking at developing the terminal to make it best in class at the airport.
“And we’ve worked tirelessly with Sumburgh Airport as an organisation to put together facilities that are more than fitting for the operation here and to give the passengers the experience we believe they deserve.”
Plans for the redevelopment of the CHC base in Aberdeen show that flight operations will move from the first floor of the current passenger terminal over to the firm’s North Hanger, housed in a new extension built onto the side of the building.
This means pilots, their planning rooms and the operations dispatch will all move to the adjacent building.
Upstairs in the main terminal, where flight ops are currently situated, will become another lounge, expanding the amount of space for pre-flight or weather delayed passengers.
And the number of departure gates on the ground floor will increase from nine to 12.
All of the buildings appear to show plans for a face lift and rebranding, with the terminal getting a new canopy and entrance.
The move comes on the back of extensive changes to operations in Shetland.
Working in partnership with Loganair, passengers heading west of Shetland are now experiencing the benefits of fixed wing flights to Sumburgh.
The slick operation serves the likes of Statoil’s 250million barrel Mariner development.
Passengers are taken directly through CHC’s Aberdeen base to a waiting Loganair flight which takes around an hour to get to Shetland.
After landing, offshore workers pick up a survival suit air-side and can hop directly onto a waiting chopper – making turnarounds achievable in the space of 15 to 20 minutes on a good day.
Mr Abbey said: “I think we all know that the oil and gas market has been a very challenging environment of late and we as operators of helicopters have had to work in partnership with a number of our customers to develop innovative, efficient and effective solutions to react to market conditions.
“Sumburgh is a typical example of that. We’ve helped each other as a partnership in a customer supplier relationship, but also with the airport itself.
“The airport today is really a reflection of how we can work together to put together an effective, efficient and slick operation.
“Our most valuable cargo, our passengers, are brought up here on a fixed wing operation, then we go through a very efficient and effective method and process to actually get them off the fixed wing and into the rotary wing environment.
“All in all we believe that we’ve reacted to our customers, the market – which has been challenging – and put together a process that we believe is a efficient, effective and absolutely safe.”
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