In operation

A Scandinavian AirAmbulance EC135 helicopter

A Sky Shuttle Helicopters helicopter at Shun Tak Heliport, Hong Kong

Defunct or renamed

A Los Angeles Airways helicopter taking off from the roof of the Terminal Annex Post office to inaugurate helicopter air-mail service, 1947

Services offered

Some companies focus solely on winning ongoing contracts in a single industry sector, such as oil & gas. Other companies cater to a wider range of clients by offering one-off charter flights on an ad hoc basis. Services can include:

• Aid – disaster relief, humanitarian aid
• Agriculture – crop dusting, game monitoring, hydroseeding, livestock mustering, pest control, wildlife management
• Firefighting – helicopter bucket, helitack
• Flight training
• Forestry – heli-logging, stream restoration
• Freight – aerial crane, airdrop; general cargo and mail delivery in remote areas
• Industrial – construction, inspection and maintenance of overhead power lines, pipelines, mobile phone towers, offshore wind farms, hydropower facilities, and other infrastructure
• Maritime – pilot transfer and other ship-to-shore transport
• Medical – air ambulance, medical evacuation
• Military – aeromedical evacuation, pilot training; airlift, vertical replenishment and other logistical support
• Oil & gas – transporting crews to and from offshore platforms
• Passenger – VIP & corporate charter; scheduled flights from remote areas
• Photography – aerial photography, archaeology, film production, photogrammetry, television news reporting
• Science – water sampling, wildlife monitoring, snow radar, support to research stations in the Arctic and Antarctic
• Search & rescue – air-sea rescue, mountain rescue
• Surveillance – border control, coast guard, police
• Survey – aeromagnetic, mineral exploration, reflection seismology
• Tourism – sightseeing tours, heliskiing