CHC Helicopter is celebrating the inaugural flight of its H175 super-medium aircraft to the Ocean Patriot offshore oil and gas rig in the North Sea. “I am delighted to see the H175, the first of three in the CHC fleet, officially take off for our European operation and to offer this new-generation aircraft to Shell, which we have provided aviation services to in the North Sea since 2012,” says regional director Mark Abbey.

“The aircraft can be configured to carry up to 16 passengers, allowing us to efficiently manage our customers' current North Sea operations while also providing a high level of operational flexibility. This is key to their needs in the next phase of oil and gas activity in the region.”

The Airbus Helicopters H175 first entered service in December 2014. Designed in collaboration with major oil and gas and SAR customers and operators, it exceeds the requirements of the latest, most demanding CS-29 regulation and oil and gas producer guidelines. To support the introduction of the H175 to CHC's fleet, the company's Aberdeen base has been designated as a global H175 engineering centre of excellence.

CHC Group has also signed a contract with DONG Energy to provide aviation services for the first phase of its Hornsea Project One offshore wind farm.