Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. is entering the new year with a new name -- but it shouldn't be too hard for those in the industry to follow along. The company announced effective January 1, they will be known as PHI.

Sources with PHI told Aero-News last week the change was made to better align its corporate brand identity with its increasingly diversified business activities -- the helicopter transportation and services company long ago expanded its operations from serving the offshore oil and gas exploration and production industry (primarily in the Gulf of Mexico.)

Today -- in addition to providing third-party aircraft maintenance services -- PHI also specializes in helicopter and fixed-wing medical transportation services, in support of the medical and emergency response industries throughout the United States.

The company flies a wide range of aircraft, including six Sikorsky S-92 helos (file photo of type, below) -- one of which, as was recently reported in Aero-News, reached 1,000 operating hours in record time.

Most recently, the company played a role in hurricane relief efforts along the Gulf Coast.

With the name change, the Company's common stock will continue to trade on the Nasdaq National Market, but under new ticker symbols. The voting common stock will trade under the symbol PHII, and the non-voting common stock will trade under the symbol PHIIK. The ticker symbol changes will be effective January 3 -- the first trading day of 2006.

FMI: www.phihelico.com