While U.S. helicopter tourism operators have been under continuing pressure from regulators and environmental groups over the past few years, their colleagues in less restrictive legislative environments have continued to make a decent living. Charter companies in South Africa have been doing particularly well at offering “flightseeing” packages, even though the gloss of a weak U.S. dollar has long since faded.
Over the past few years, National Airways (NAC) has become, through a process of acquisition and expansion, the largest onshore helicopter operator in South Africa. While the company’s primary focus is aircraft sales–it sells the Robinson R22, Bell/Agusta AB139 and the entire Gulfstream line–it also offers maintenance and refurbishment, avionics and parts sales and support and flight operations that include charter, contract flying and pilot training.
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