But it was later said that there was no arguable case to make on this point.
At the end of the tender process, 247 Aviation was awarded the contract, which it intends to operate with single-engined planes.
Gama Aviation (UK) Ltd is seeking a judicial review of the process in the Ordinary Division of the Royal Court and ultimately wants the decision quashed. It is actioning the States, which was acting through Health & Social Care in awarding the contract.
On the second day of the court hearing, Advocate Michael Adkins, representing Gama, said that the company had asked several questions after it found out it had lost the contract, including seeking a full breakdown of the score it had been awarded.
But there was no record of Gama being given any reasons for its score, he said, and there did not seem to be any rational reasons why 247 would have scored higher in some categories.
In addition, it appeared as if 247 had been awarded the contract on the basis of using aircraft that it did not yet own – three single-engine Pilatus PC-12s, which would be dedicated to the task and based in Jersey and Guernsey, with a reserve in Belfast.
The company did not have airworthiness certificates for these, since at the time of the bid it did not have the aircraft, and once ordered Advocate Adkins said that it was likely to take two to three years for them to be delivered.
Instead, 247 had said it would use some of its existing Pilatus fleet to operate the contract, with six Lear jets as back-up.
It appeared as if 247 had been assessed on an upgrade that was expected in two to three years, he said.
Advocate Adkins also spoke about what he described as ‘a change to the fundamental building blocks of the procurement’ by Jersey, which was collaborating with Guernsey on the tender.
After saying that twin-engine planes were a ‘must have’ for the medevac service, Jersey dropped this requirement at a later stage, he said, when it was too late for Gama to make changes to its bid.
Lt-Bailiff Hazel Marshall, presiding, wondered why Gama had not asked the project team for more time, if it wished to come up with its own single-engine solution.
On behalf of the States Crown Advocate Penny Grainge said that although it was a joint procurement process, the tenderers were told that they would have to put separate bids to each island, and each island would contract separately for the services.
However, it was recognised by both islands that there could be benefits if both chose the same operator.
It was also important for the court to keep in the forefront of its mind that there was no statutory procurement process in Guernsey.
Instead the States had a procurement policy and procedures. Detailed case law from the UK, cited by the airline, could therefore not be read across into the Guernsey situation, she said.
‘One has to ask what the applicant has expectation of, given this lack,’ said Advocate Grainge.
Among the States’ arguments was that leave to proceed with the review should be declined. Among its points was that the argument about the change from Jersey had no reasonable prospect of success.
She also argued that the application for the judicial review was not sufficiently prompt.
Finally, although it was not accepted that the conduct complained of had occurred, even if it had, it was highly unlikely that the outcome would have been any different.
Gama Aviation has provided the air ambulance service in Guernsey and Jersey since August 2020.
It operates a twin-engined Beechcraft King Air B200 aircraft, which has provided a 24-hour, 365-days-a-year service between the Channel Islands and UK health services.
The hearing is expected to conclude next week.