Leonardo announced further combined orders for helicopters at Heli-Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, March 1 for a total of 17 aircraft valued at almost 140 million euro (US$170 million) for several customers in various countries and for a range of commercial and public service applications. Contracts include a mix of AW119Kx single engine, AW109 GrandNew and AW109 Trekker light twins, AW169 light-intermediate, AW139 intermediate and AW189 super medium types, confirming the strong competitiveness of the company’s modern product portfolio.
A total of seven emergency medical service helicopters (EMS) to be operated in Europe have been sold, including four AW169s and three AW139s. An AW169 in particular has been purchased by Specialist Aviation Services (SAS) in UK which has already received seven aircraft and plans to bring the total fleet of AW169s to 12 in the future. Leonardo is a strong supplier of emergency medical services (EMS) and search-and-rescue (SAR) helicopters with a fleet of over 600 units in service in 50 nations.
An AW169 has been ordered by HeliService International GmbH (HeliService) of Germany to perform missions in the North Sea. HeliService’s fleet already includes two AW169 in service and their initial orders in 2015 and 2016 marked the first AW169s for this application and the entry of the new model into the German helicopter market. Since then the AW169 success in the North Sea wind farm offshore market has grown further with orders placed by other European operators. Growth in the offshore transport market was achieved with the sale of an additional AW139, plus one option, to Travira Air in Indonesia. This is the fourth aircraft of this type sold to this operator in the Southeast Asian country.
In the UK, Sloane Helicopters, official distributor of Leonardo helicopters with more than 75 aircraft sold in UK and Ireland, placed an order for an AW109 GrandNew VIP and an AW109 Trekker. Sloane becomes the first customer for the recently EASA-certified AW109 Trekker in Northern Europe, following international market success for the new type which has so far logged orders for over 40 units. Another AW109 GrandNew has been ordered by Japanese official distributor Kaigai Aviotech while an AW139 will be used for shuttle service operations in Spain. In Argentina, Flight Express placed an order for an AW119Kx and an AW169 in VIP/corporate configuration. Leonardo is unmatched in the global VIP/corporate market with a 50 percent share in the multiengine segment.
Mitsui Bussan Aerospace of Japan and Leonardo have signed a renewal of the Distributorship Agreement for the next three years covering the AW169, AW139 and AW189 models, also including an order for one AW189 super medium helicopter. Furthermore, the partners have also signed the renewal of the basic ordering agreement for an increasing stock of spare parts to further strengthen customer support services in Japan.
Finally, the Tianjin Municipal Public Security Bureau has chosen the AW139 for law enforcement emergency response, security, traffic control, SAR, and other public utility duties, expanding the presence of Leonardo in China for law enforcement roles. The company has already delivered to Chinese operators more than 20 aircraft of various models for this task to date, including 9 AW139s, confirming itself as the law enforcement market leader in China.
These orders follow an earlier contract announcement made at Heli-Expo 2018 with Sino-US of China, for 26 aircraft across AW119Kx, AW109 Trekker, and AW139 models.
