"For several months now, we have decided to operate a strategic shift inspired by the logic of airline companies: in fact, these two activities have very similar business models," explains François Leslé, CEO of Bourbon Mobility. Thus, the company aims for the same standards in terms of services, comfort and safety, by capitalizing firstly of all on its key strengths: operational excellence and technical reliability of its vessels. Because one can only succeed by building on solid foundations. 

All employees, at all levels of the company, are leading this new approach: "it is one of the key elements of this new direction" continues François Leslé. "There must be a real team spirit within Bourbon Mobility! Everyone must work together to achieve the same goal, in collaborative mode. All initiatives must be valued and we encourage feedback of information from the field to exploit positive potential ideas”.

The service offer has been redefined according to 3 major lines to make it clearer:

• a "Crewliner" service for long-distance transport, 
• an "Inter-field" service for the transport of personnel between oil fields, 
• and a made-to-measure "Specific Support" service. 

With an average base/platform journey of four to five hours and even up to 12 hours, the comfort of our passengers remains a priority. "Our vessels, which are serviced in our Surfers Repair Centers, have a record technical availability rate, but we must now change paradigms and search for a 100% service rate," adds François Leslé. "This strategy represents a fundamental change: the vessel becomes a means and the passenger is placed at the center of this logic."
 

Initiatives are also being taken to make the passenger experience more pleasant. A WiFi network will thus be available on all vessels, with a supply of films and media modelled on the standards of airlines and which passengers will be able to consult on their personal mobile devices. This service is currently being tested in Nigeria and Gabon and will, if results are conclusive, be deployed on vessels before the end of the year for clients who request it. Similarly, a snack service will be available from mid-2019 to respond to a real demand expressed by clients.

Going beyond the vessels themselves, BOURBON is planning to diversify its services. Reflection is in progress as to an UBER-type solution based on digitization for inter-field services, which would enable us to know the number of seats available in real time, book according to needs, and allow the client to pay according to the use of the vessels. This service should be finalized within two years. "The group is also preparing door-to-door offers for personnel in order to become what we could call an offshore travel agency, by taking charge of the persons concerned from their homes to the platform," says François Leslé.

Another symbol of the transformation of Bourbon Mobility is the fact that the company is working on an business model based on a rate per seat to encourage clients to optimize the occupancy rate and to pool means in order to continue to reduce their operating costs. In short, BOURBON proposes a real transformation of existing models.

The embarkation/disembarkation solution called "Boat Landing" is one of BOURBON's great achievements in the field of safety. With what results? 

BOURBON invented Boat Landing thirty years ago. No deaths have ever occurred with this service: it is still the most reliable system ever devised for the transfer of passengers on the open sea. Transfer between the vessel and the platform is extremely dangerous. There is no alternative solution currently available on the market that can compete with Boat Landing in terms of safety and duration. We can disembark 50 people in 10 minutes! 

People who discover this service may feel a certain amount of stress. How do you help them overcome it?

We are currently developing a 3D glasses project with a Major. The aim is to prepare newcomers for disembarking with the Boat Landing procedure. Once they have gone through the procedure virtually, they will better manage their stress and know what to expect. In addition, we have equipped all personnel who have never disembarked this way with green armbands so that the seamen can recognize them and provide specific assistance. 

Do you think you can still improve your equipment and reduce the time required for transfer?

Yes. The duration of transfer at sea is not a mere detail. New equipment is being studied to better respond to local constraints and to expand our zone of coverage. Even though Boat Landing is perfectly well adapted to West Africa, it is perhaps less so under the conditions that we encounter elsewhere, for example, where the needs related to the sea and the weather are different. We are therefore considering other technical solutions, such as the use of motion compensated gangways, to ensure an optimum quality of service with total safety.