Bristow Group Inc.

The aviation services industry is highly competitive. Customers seek operators with established safety records and a demonstrated level of technical capability and competency. In most instances, customers contract aircraft through a competitive bidding process, and typically an operator must be technically qualified to respond to a request for proposal. Technical qualification typically includes the customer conducting a rigorous pre-tender audit to review safety performance, operational capability and experience. Upon technical qualification, customers typically evaluate tender responses based on safety performance, operational experience, technical solution, mobilization time and price, which applies to both our Offshore Energy and Government Services contracts. In general, incumbent operators have a competitive advantage in the bidding process based on their relationship with the customer, knowledge of the scope of work, and existing facilities to support the operations. In addition, while not the predominant practice, some offshore energy companies may support their own rotary aviation needs via an in-house aviation department to fulfill their needs, or they may support the entry of a new operator in a region where we operate.

Our primary competitors, which vary by region, are CHC Group LLC, NHV Group, Omni Helicopters International, S.A. and PHI, Inc. (“PHI”). We may also face competition from a number of smaller, local operators depending on the region and segment.