Bruno Ozolins Works with Integrity Because Lives are at Stake

Bristow employees live our values every day because it's who they are, and that's what makes Bristow unique. This interview highlights Brazil Pilot Bruno Ozolins who knows the value of making hard calls when you know it’s the right thing to do.

What does it mean to work with integrity?

Integrity is one of the most important values you can have. It means doing the right thing – every time. Integrity is how we live our personal and professional principles at all times. Whether I’m developing a flight plan, maintaining good resource management, conducting a debrief or interacting with passengers, conducting myself with integrity is always important. ​​​​​​​

Why is working with integrity important to you?

Our passengers’ lives depend on us working with integrity at every moment.

When I’m in the aircraft, I complete each task in the way I hope anyone would if my life was at stake because I am responsible for the lives of my passengers. I deliver the service I would want delivered to me if I was a passenger.

If we have an occurrence that requires us to cancel a landing or flight due to weather or malfunction and we have passengers involved, explain to the passengers what happened and why we made the decision we did and we give them the opportunity to ask us questions. They usually have questions, and many of their questions indicate that they have a fear of flying, so it’s important to be transparent, put them at ease and assure them that we always act with safety as our top priority. I put myself in their place and handle it the way I would like it handled if I was a passenger. If I needed to fly to my work location and I had a fear of flying, I would hope that my pilot would be open and honest and would take the time to educate me and assure me of all the safety protocols in place. It’s important to deliver what the customer needs, but it’s critical that our passengers feel safe with the company and know we always put safety first. ​​​​​​​ 

If we are all working with integrity, we are speaking the same language of integrity and we can work more efficiently and effectively to accomplish our objectives. Our missions involve transporting lives, so working with integrity will ensure we live up to that responsibility.

Why is it important for Bristow employees to work with integrity?

We must work very closely together as a team due to the nature of our business. To work most effectively, we must be able to trust that our colleagues are working with integrity, just like we are. If we are all working with integrity, we are speaking the same language of integrity and we can work more efficiently and effectively to accomplish our objectives. Our missions involve transporting lives, so working with integrity will ensure we live up to that responsibility.

Talk about a time that working with integrity paid off for you or the company.

When the company had brought in a new aircraft type and planned an important flight to showcase the new aircraft to our customers, I had to cancel the flight due to a significant malfunction. I made the decision to cancel the flight because it was the right thing to do. I was a bit concerned as I began the debrief with the passengers, but the passengers were grateful that I put safety above all else. One passenger told me that, yes, the flight was important, but what was more important was the feeling of safety and security they had as a result of the cancellation. We do the right thing because it’s the right thing. But it definitely helps when it also reassures our passengers and builds trust in our relationships.