Petroleum Helicopters International, Inc. (PHI),is an American commercial helicopter operator, which was founded February 21, 1949, by Robert L. Suggs. [1] The company is based in Lafayette, Louisiana and provides helicopter service for the oil industry, primarily in the Gulf of Mexico. Aeromedical service, pilot training and helicopter repair are also part of the company’s profile. [2]
History
PHI Inc. was founded by J Robert L. Suggs and Maurice M. Bayon with a startup cost of $100,000, eight employees, and three Bell H-13 Sioux helicopters. Their first contract was to provide helicopter service to a seismographic group working in the wetlands of Louisiana. By 1950 the company’s service increased with offshore drilling throughout the Gulf of Mexico, where they were now flying workers and their equipment to and from oil platforms. PHI began expanding their service, with operations in oil rigs located outside continental United States. As the demand for heavy lift grew, PHI met the challenge by adding the Sikorsky S-55. and the Sikorsky S-58 to their fleet .The range of their fleet was increased by designing and building an offshore refueling facility in the Gulf region. PHI also created its own safety procedures for helicopter operations, this was done in the form of an in house training safety program. [3]
In 1961 the company demonstrated their diversity in the public service sector during Hurricane Carla, PHI pilots were credited with rescuing 500 people. Later in that same decade they won a contract from NASA, to retrieve objects launched from spacecraft. Pilots would conduct mid-air recovery of rocket-launched modules as they returned to earth. In 1969 the company constructed a new complex at Lake Palourde in Morgan City,[4] this was to accommodate their growing fleet and at the time became the largest heliport in the world. [5] [3]
In 1972 the company put in an order for news helicopters totaling $5 million. These acquisitions grew the company's inventory to 233 helicopters and the company was employing 1,000 people. Upon their 25th anniversary, they were sustaining operations at 5 international bases and 13 coastal sites. Toward the latter part of the 70’s, PHI’s fleet achieved a total of 308 helicopters, which was the biggest non-military group of aircraft on the globe. [3]
In the 1980s, PHI saw tough economic times with the down turn of oil production in the Gulf region, so the company took on a new undertaking by adding an air ambulances division. In 1981 Petroleum Helicopters created the Air Medical Program, and PHI became a major provider of aeromedical services. [6] In 1989 founder Robert Suggs died from a heart attack, and this left a question mark on the company’s future. Carroll Suggs widow of Robert Suggs, dismissed the apprehension and she assumed control of company as CEO, chairman, and president. [3]
In 1990, the company had obtained a 60 percent share of the offshore Logistics market. For the fiscal year ending in April, 1990, the company had netted $10 million from revenues of $188 million. Some the profits came in part from downsizing procedures, including the sell-off of some of older aircraft. Furthermore PHI looked toward new international markets to tap for prospective growth inSouth America and Asia. In 1996, the FAA awards PHI, Inc. the High Flyers Award, for achieving one of the safest flying records over a 12 month period. Later that year they gained a contract with the NSF Antarctica Program and became the first non-government operator to support that mission. PHI continued, with their in house projects, and launched the Acadian Composites to fix and service basic components on helicopters. Their acquisitions continued as well with the purchase of Air Evac Services, Inc. based in Arizona. [3] In 1999, the total number of oil platforms fell to all-time low and, in finical terms, the value of oil plunged in five decades. Profits from its air ambulance services helped balanced the effect of the drop in oil rigs, and in August of that same year construction was completed on a new, heliport located in Boothville, Louisiana. The Robert Suggs Heliport named in honor of the company's founder. [7][8]
Entering 2000, PHI had 1,875 employees, 275 helicopters, and ten fixed-wing airplanes. Lance F. Bospflug was appointed president in September 2001 and replaced Carroll Suggs as chief executive about a year later. Bospflug led a restructuring effort that developed in some one-time charges and a loss of $12.3 million for 2000 on revenues of $235.3 million. Job cuts in early 2001 reduced employment by 220 workers. Company co-founder Maurice M. Bayon passed away in March 2001 at the age of 92, and later that year, the Suggs family sold its 52 percent stake to Houston oilman Al A. Gonsoulin for $30.4 million. Gonsoulin subsequently succeeded Carroll Suggs as board chairman, and the company was preparing to relocate its corporate offices in Metairie into the operations center in Lafayette. Several months of critical negotiations with its new pilots' union (the Office and Professional Employees Union) had resulted in a new three-year contract.[9] Lance Bospflug stepped down as CEO and president in May 2004 citing personal reasons and Al Gonsoulin assumed control as chairman. PHI's helicopter continued to grow their fleet with induction of the Sikorsky S-92 helicopter, which PHI was the launch customer for. [10] The storms of 2005 like Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc with the company’s operation. Flooding occurred at Boothville, Louisiana, base in late August, putting it out of service for a year. A month later, Hurricane Rita destroyed PHI's base in Cameron, Louisiana. In 2006 company officially changed its name to, PHI, Inc. The move was made to unite its broad range of operations under a single brand. Its old NASDAQ ticker symbols (PHEL, PHELK) were replaced by new ones (PHII, PHIIK) [11]
Fleet
PHI Inc. Owns or operates 259 aircraft domestically and internationally. 162 aircraft are dedicated to its Oil and Gas segment. 88 aircraft are dedicated to its Air Medical segment. They also operate five aircraft for the National Science Foundation in Antarctica.[12].
|
|
- ^ "1998 Industry Pioneers". Retrieved 2012-08-17.
- ^ International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 35. St. James Press, 2001 ISBN 9781558624436.
- ^ a b c d e "Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. History". Retrieved 2012-11-10.
{{cite web}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=
(help) - ^ "Lake Palourde Base Heliport". Copyright © AirNav, LLC. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
- ^ The Times-Picayune, 5th of January, 1999 John Biers, “Helicopter Firm to Get New Home,”, p. C1.
- ^ "Air Evac Services , Inc". Copyright © 2012 Zoom Information. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
- ^ "ROBERT L SUGGS HELIPORT(LS08)". TripOutlook.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
{{cite web}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=
(help) - ^ The Daily Advertiser (Lafayette) February 19, 1999, John Biers, “PHI 50th Anniversary,” pp. 1–56.
- ^ International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 35. St. James Press, 2001 ISBN 9781558624436.
- ^ "First Production Sikorsky S-92 Heads to Work". © 2012 Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
- ^ "PHI, Inc. - Company Profile". © 2012 Advameg, Inc. 2012-10-11.
- ^ "PHI Inc (PHII)". Thomson Reuters.
- ^ a b helicopters "Heli database". Retrieved 2012-08-21.
{{cite web}}
: Check|url=
value (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=
(help) - ^ "AS - 350 Aircraft". ©Copyright 2012 Demand Media. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
- ^ "Bell 206 Aircraft". ©Copyright 2012 Demand Media. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
- ^ "Bell 206L Aircraft". ©Copyright 2012 Demand Media. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
- ^ "Bell 212 Aircraft". ©Copyright 2012 Demand Media. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
- ^ "Bell 412SP Aircraft". ©Copyright 2012 Demand Media. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
- ^ "EC 135 Aircraft". ©Copyright 2012 Demand Media. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
- ^ "Bo 105 Aircraft". ©Copyright 2012 Demand Media. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
- ^ "BK 117 Aircraft". ©Copyright 2012 Demand Media. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
- ^ "S-76 Aircraft". ©Copyright 2012 Demand Media. Retrieved 2012-08-21.