Bristow names retired military man as area manager in Guyana

Offshore aviation services provider Bristow Group has named a retired Guyana Defence Force Air Corps commanding officer as the Guyanese area manager.

Bristow reported on Wednesday that it had appointed the retired Commanding Officer of the Guyana Defence Force Air Corps, Courtney Byrne, with 28 years of military experience, as the area manager in Guyana. Byrne started as an officer cadet and worked his way up the ranks, while he also served as a Board member of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Corporation and the GCAA.

The new area manager has an airline transport pilot license, a commercial pilot license with instrument rating on helicopters issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) respectively and is a Transport Canada/GCAA approved check airman with over 3,500 hours of total flight time, according to Bristow.

Courtney Byrne, Area Manager of Guyana, stated: “I look forward to working with Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited and other customers in the region as we provide the safest, most efficient vertical lift solutions in the area. It is an exciting time for the offshore industry and the growth in the region is a strong positive that is good for Bristow, our customers and the citizens of Guyana.”

As Bristow grows its operations in Guyana, Byrne will manage the local day-to-day operations, work closely with customers and across the company to ensure customer service expectations are met, while being responsible for ensuring the safety of the team and passengers.

Samantha Willenbacher, Senior Vice President of Americas commented on the appointment: “Courtney brings decades of aviation expertise and passion that will help us provide safe, reliable and efficient service to Guyana. He is committed to providing great support to our customers as well as growing our business in the region. He is also committed to fostering strong relations in the local community and ensuring our operations are sustainable. As the only operator in the region, we are committed to maintaining our role as the global leader in vertical flight.”

Earlier in April, Bristow made changes to its executive leadership team structure to ensure the company will capitalise on new market conditions and the evolving energy transition. As part of this shuffle, the company named a retired four-star U.S. Air Force General Maryanne Miller with over 39 years of military service to its board of directors, effective from 23 May 2021.

Recently, Bristow secured four separate two-year contract extensions from Equinor, Shell, and Neptune for air transportation crew change services on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.