A South Island consortium appears to be behind a bid to run a southern rescue helicopter service.
Under the plan, rescue helicopters may continue operating from Te Anau.
Organisations had until yesterday to submit a tender to win a new contract to provide rescue and air ambulances services to the whole of the South Island.
It is understood one bidder is Helicopter Emergency Medical Services New Zealand Ltd.
Established in 2016, it is a joint venture between Mosgiel-based Helicopters Otago Ltd, Christchurch's Garden City Helicopters and Te Anau's Southern Lakes Helicopters.
Its directors include Graeme Gale, of Helicopters Otago, and Richard Hayes, of Southern Lakes Helicopters.
It would subcontract to Southern Lakes Helicopters on an as-needed basis, which could effectively circumvent some stipulations of the new contracts.
Asked whether the company was part of a joint tender bid, Southern Lakes Helicopters operations manager Lloyd Matheson confirmed it was.
``Yes, yes we are.
``The tender is in and we're just waiting for the outcome, for them to make a decision.
``It's subject to a confidential clause at the moment, so I'm stifled to what I can say, but it's a South Island group, [a] well-known consortium.''
A Garden City Helicopters representative said the company was not commenting on the tender process.
Mr Gale said he could not say much.
``Look, we certainly want to continue supplying services to our regions but I can't really give you any detail on it at this stage.
``We're very keen to continue supporting the community that has supported us.''
The company has been operating the rescue and air ambulance helicopter service for parts of the lower South Island since 1998.
The National Ambulance Sector Office (Naso), run by the Ministry of Health and the Accident Compensation Corporation put air rescue services out to tender following a review due to rising demand for the service.
The new contract covers the whole of South Island and requires operators to use twin-engined helicopters.
It seeks to standardise the air ambulance services nationally and ensure the successful provider has crews including paramedics and doctors, and nurses for hospital transfers.
Mr Matheson said there were two parts to the tender document.
``We're hoping for what is a non-compliant tender. So it's not a dedicated machine. It's as a subcontractor.
``I think the time to make a lot of noise is if we don't get that non-compliant tender. Otherwise, it's putting the cart before the horse.''
The company would use a twin-engined machine for the service.
Under the current system, some organisations, such as the Lakes Air Rescue Trust hold the Naso contracts and subcontracts to helicopter firms, paramedics and alpine cliff rescuers.
But there was vocal opposition once people in some regions and the sector realised four existing bases, including Te Anau, were not included in the tender document.
Almost 30,000 people have signed a national petition calling on ACC Minister Iain Lees-Galloway and Health Minister David Clark to commit to maintaining the rescue helicopter bases at Te Anau, Taupo, Rotorua and Whitianga.
Southern Lakes Helicopters, in Te Anau, covers Fiordland and also the Muttonbird Islands and Stewart Island.
It conducts about 200 missions a year, contracted by the trust and responding directly to calls from Rescue Co-ordination Centre New Zealand, which manages personal locator beacon distress calls.
The tender document envisaged the service centralised to a Queenstown base.
However, there were concerns adding a 20- to 25-minute flight time from Queenstown to Te Anau would costs lives.
The Ministry of Health would not confirm how many organisations had bid for the contract by yesterday, or whether there had been any overseas bids.
