Bond Offshore Helicopters is to provide crew change support to staff working at the Athena oil field approximately 180 km north east of Aberdeen. Worth in the region of £16m, the three-year contract with BW Offshore UK will see Bond's new-to-fleet AW139 carry crew from Aberdeen airport to the floating production storage and offtake vessel Athena. Deck restrictions make the operation of a larger aircraft challenging and led to the choice of the AW139.

Richard Mintern, ceo northern Europe and Asia Pacific of parent company Avincis Group, says: "This new win is the latest in a recent run of success for Bond, coming on the back of a new contract with Perenco in the southern North Sea, as well as contract renewals by long-standing air ambulance customers in Scotland and the Midlands."

BW Offshore maintains production at the Athena field on behalf of Ithaca Energy and is the world's second largest contractor, with a fleet represented in all major oil regions worldwide.

Meanwhile, EASA has approved a Bond Helicopters Europe EC135 aircraft for night vision goggles operations to ground level.

With this technical approval secured, the next step is to secure operational approval from the UK CAA, a process that is ongoing.

Jeremy Liber, director of design and completions, says: "We are very proud that Bond was able to draw on extensive in-house expertise to make these modifications and obtain EASA approval."

Bond says it has also become the first helicopter operator to become a full member of the Step Change In Safety initiative, which was founded in 1997 by the principal oil and gas industry trade associations, with the aim of making the UK the safest place to work in the global oil and gas industry.

Luke Farajallah, Bond md, says: "The safety of our customers, crew and everyone we work with is fundamental to the culture of Bond Offshore Helicopters. Membership of Step Change In Safety puts Bond at the forefront of embedding these values across the oil and gas industry".