Petroleum Helicopters International

Petroleum Helicopters Inc.
IATA ICAO Callsign
PHM PETROLEUM
Founded 1949
Fleet size 259
Parent company PHI, Air Medical
Headquarters Lafayette, Louisiana
Key people Al Gonsoulin CEO[1]
Website phihelico.com

Petroleum Helicopters International, Inc. (PHI), is an American commercial helicopter operator, founded in 1949, by Robert L. Suggs.[2] The company is based in Lafayette, Louisiana and provides service for the oil and gas industry, Aeromedical services, pilot training and aircraft maintenance.[3][4]

History

PHI Inc. was founded by J Robert L. Suggs and Maurice M. Bayon with a startup cost of $100,000, and three Bell 47 helicopters. They started out by providing service to a seismographic group working in the wetlands of Louisiana. The company’s service extended to offshore drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, and grew their fleet with the addition of the Sikorsky S-55. and the Sikorsky S-58 helicopters.[5] Over the next couple of decades the company expanded their fleet to 300 helicopters, which was the biggest non-military group of aircraft.,[5][6] and constructed the world’s largest heliport at Lake Palourde in Morgan City[7] In 1981 Petroleum Helicopters created PHI Air Medical, and became a provider of aeromedical services.[8]

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.[9][10]

Small Helicopters
Aircraft Total Notes
Bell 407
Bell 206L
Bell 212
Bell 412
BK-117
Eurocopter EC 135
Eurocopter EC145
Eurocopter AS350
AW139
Sikorsky S-76
Sikorsky S-92
Total Number of Aircraft 256

References

  1. ↑ "Al A. Gonsoulin". bloomberg.com. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  2. ↑ "1998 Industry Pioneers". Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  3. ↑ International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 35. St. James Press, 2001 ISBN 9781558624436.
  4. ↑ Goold, Ian (May 1987). "Helicopters over a barrel". Flight International: 26.
  5. 1 2 "Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. History". Retrieved 2015-04-04.
  6. ↑ Goold, Ian (May 1987). "Helicopters over a barrel". Flight International: 26.
  7. ↑ "Lake Palourde Base Heliport". AirNav, LLC. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "Air Evac Services , Inc". zoominfo.com Information. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  9. ↑ "PHI Inc (PHII)". Thomson Reuters.
  10. ↑ PHI fleet
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