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Providing coverage of Alaska and northern Canada's oil and gas industry
May 2011

Vol. 16, No. 18 Week of May 01, 2011

Arctic Directory: With more than 60 years experience, Era an established leader in the helicopter industry

Throughout its history Era has been providing safe operations in many challenging conditions

Q. What do you most want people to know about your company?

A. Era Helicopters has been in business for 63 years, starting in Alaska and expanding to Louisiana and now internationally!

Q. Where is your company located?

A. Corporate headquarters are in Lake Charles, La., and the Alaska office is located in Anchorage.

Q. What year was the company founded and by whom?

A. 1948 by Carl F. Brady

Q. What is the company’s primary business sector?

A. Oil and gas support, aircraft leasing, air medical

Q. Are there important projects the company is currently a part of or has done recently?

A. Era recently supported Shell with the docking of the Kulluk in Dutch Harbor. We also participated in the gas pipeline survey work this last summer for the Alaska Gas Pipeline Project.

Q. How many employees does your company have?

A. 900 plus.

Q. Describe the equipment your company might use and are there any new purchases planned?

A. Era operates one of the most advanced new helicopters on the market, the Agusta AW139. This 12 passenger helicopter is equipped with state of the art technology and handles the extreme cold weather of Alaska expertly. We also have a large fleet of AS350B2 helicopters that are used not only for utility jobs but are our premier flight-seeing aircraft. Era operates several BH212s and a BH412 which continue to hold their place in the Alaska market.

Q. Is your company expanding any of its operations or locations?

A. Era is well placed around the state with bases covering the far north in Deadhorse down to the southeast in Juneau. We have six bases total which give us optimal state coverage.

Q. Is the company changing any of its services?

A. Era continually works to be the best helicopter company in Alaska. We are very diverse in our operations and remain open to new ideas.

Q. What is your company’s main strength or its edge over the competition?

A. Era’s strength is our ability to stay on top of the technological market in helicopter operations. Era is the first civil helicopter company to take Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) technology, a program used by the airline industry to routinely obtain and analyze data recorded in flight, into its fleet. Era is also one of the first companies to introduce Health and Usage Monitoring Systems (HUMS) into its fleet.

Q. What new markets, clients or projects did your company attract in the last year?

A. Era has continued to expand in the oil and gas industry, flying for the Alaska Gas Pipeline Project and Shell Oil Company.

Q. What is the most challenging job the company has undertaken? 

A. Flare tip fittings via long line in the North Sea.

Q. What are the biggest obstacles to completing work the company undertakes?

A. For Era, one of our biggest obstacles can be weather.

Q. What do you see as your company’s biggest challenge in the next five years?

A. Keeping up with customer demands as well a continuing advanced safety culture.

Q. What is the average length of time employee’s work for the company?

A. Eight to 10 years

Q. What is your company’s safety record? What steps does the company take to ensure a safe work environment?

A. Era has an excellent safety record. We have in place Safety Management Systems (SMS), Quality Assurance and Health and Safety (H&S) programs.

Q. Has your company received any awards or recognition?

A. Igor I. Sikorsky Award for Humanitarian Service in 2005 from HAI

U.S. Coast Guard Hurricane Katrina/Rita Response 2005 for 246 Days and 2430.6 Safe flight hours

BP Exploration 1990 Logistics Safety Award

Q. Has your company been involved in any community projects or charities events?

A. Anchorage Chamber, EVA Foundation and Local Charitable Contributions through donations and flight support.

Q. Does your company have a website?

A. www.erahelicopters.com






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