HOUSTON and BRISTOL, England, Sept.
21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bristow Group Inc. (NYSE: VTOL),
the world's leading global provider of vertical flight solutions to
government and civil organizations, and Vertical Aerospace Group
Ltd ("Vertical"), a British engineering and aeronautical business
pioneering zero-emissions aviation, today announced a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) under which the two firms will cooperate on the
certification, operational planning and potential purchase of up to
50 eVTOL aircraft.
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Bristow's pre-order of 25 aircraft, along with the option for an
additional 25, builds on Vertical's world-leading pre-order book of
up to 1,000 aircraft. Along with conditional pre-orders from
American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Avolon, this announcement
illustrates the sector-wide confidence in Vertical as a leading
designer and manufacturer of eVTOL aircraft: the VA-X4. Vertical's
four-passenger, one pilot VA-X4 is expected to have speeds of up to
200 mph (174 knots), a range of more than 100 miles (161+
kilometres), near silent when in flight with zero emissions and low
cost per passenger mile.
"Our MOU with Vertical allows us to build upon our leadership
position in the vertical transportation market for the past 70+
years and now sets the stage for the disruptive advantages of the
VA-X4 with its zero carbon emissions and low operating costs for
passenger transport. Our expansion into these new and existing
geographic markets with sustainable, innovative and efficient
vertical lift and aerial transport services will offer passengers
superior regional air mobility solutions," said Bristow President and Chief Executive Officer
Chris Bradshaw. "As the global
leader in vertical lift, Bristow's operational expertise and
efficiency, supported by the trust and confidence of our customers,
can safely bring eVTOL aircraft into the market."
"Bristow's global expertise and reach means it is the perfect
partner for Vertical as we seek to pioneer the transition to zero
emissions flight. We look forward to working with Bristow and
accelerating the commercial operation of eVTOLs," said Stephen Fitzpatrick, Founder and CEO of Vertical
Aerospace.
Under the MOU, the two companies have agreed to develop a joint
working group to collaborate on the following areas: regulatory and
airspace; demand, fleet size, spare parts and infrastructure;
potential customers; and public acceptance and environmental
requirements.
Forward Looking Statements Disclosure
This press release contains "forward-looking statements."
Forward-looking statements represent Bristow Group Inc.'s (the
"Company") current expectations or forecasts of future events.
Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use
of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expect,"
"intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "project," or
"continue," or other similar words. These statements are made under
the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, reflect management's current views with respect
to future events and therefore are subject to significant risks and
uncertainties, both known and unknown. Without limiting the
generality of the foregoing, such forward-looking statements
include statements regarding the capabilities, development,
certification, marketing, and future operations of Vertical's
VA-X4, the Company's purchase of aircraft from Vertical, and the
anticipated benefits of the collaboration between the Company and
Vertical. The Company's actual results may vary materially from
those anticipated in forward-looking statements.
The Company disclaims any obligation or undertaking to provide
any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to
reflect any change in the Company's expectations or any change in
events, conditions or circumstances on which the forward-looking
statement is based that occur after the date hereof. You should not
place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements because the
matters they describe are subject to known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other unpredictable factors, many of which are
beyond our control. Our forward-looking statements are based on the
information currently available to us and speak only as of the date
hereof. New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it
is impossible for us to predict these matters or how they may
affect us. We have included important factors in the section
entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the fiscal year ended March 31,
2021 (the "Annual Report") which we believe over time, could
cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ
from the anticipated results, performance or achievements that are
expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. You should
consider all risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Annual Report
and in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission (the "SEC"), all of which are accessible on the SEC's
website at www.sec.gov.
About Bristow Group
Bristow Group Inc. is the leading global provider of innovative
and sustainable vertical flight solutions. Bristow primarily
provides aviation services to a broad base of major integrated,
national and independent offshore energy companies. Bristow
provides commercial search and rescue (SAR) services in several
countries and public sector SAR services in the United Kingdom (U.K.) on behalf of the
Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA). Additionally, the Company
offers ad hoc helicopter and fixed wing transportation services.
Bristow currently has customers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Guyana, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Spain, Suriname, Trinidad, the U.K. and the U.S. To learn more,
visit our website at www.bristowgroup.com.
About Vertical Aerospace
Vertical Aerospace is pioneering electric aviation. The company
was founded in 2016 by Stephen
Fitzpatrick, an established entrepreneur best known as the
founder of the Ovo Group, a leading energy group and Europe's largest independent energy retailer.
Over the past five years, Vertical has focused on building the most
experienced and senior team in the eVTOL industry, who have over
1,200 combined years of experience, and have certified and
supported over 30 different civil and military aircraft and
propulsion systems.
Vertical's unrivalled top-tier partner ecosystem is expected to
de-risk operational execution and its pathway to certification,
allow for a lean cost structure, and enable production at scale.
Vertical has received conditional pre-orders for over 1,000
aircraft from American Airlines and Avolon, including a pre-order
option from Virgin Atlantic and in doing so is creating multiple
near term and actionable routes to market. Find out more, visit our
website at https://www.vertical-aerospace.com.
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SOURCE Bristow Group