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Thursday, March 7th, 2019
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Air Medical Group Holdings (AMGH), a long-standing Airbus Helicopters’ customer has placed a mixed order for 21 helicopters made up of the single-engine H125 and twin-engine H135 models, as announced at the Heli-Expo 2019 trade show in Atlanta, Georgia. Nine of the orders were confirmed in 2018 and deliveries will be over a three-year period beginning in 2019.
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While AMGH is one of Airbus Helicopters’ biggest customers with a fleet of 85 helicopters, the company recently merged with the ground ambulance operator American Medical Response (AMR) to form Global Medical Response (GMR) which operates some 306 helicopters, 100 fixed-wing aircraft, 7,000 ground vehicles and 111 fire vehicles and which transported over 13 million patients in 2018.
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“This order will support our company’s fleet replacement and growth in the air medical market. In our operation across the United States we perform a critical care transport for a patient every ten
minutes and must always be ready at any moment,” said Fred Buttrell, President and CEO of AMGH. “The H125 and H135 offer an ideal configuration for our various missions and bring along with them the high level of support we have come to expect from Airbus.”
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“The GMR teams are one of the best in the business. We are committed to fully supporting their current fleet, as well as their upcoming H125 and H135 deliveries, while they focus on finding the best solutions to support their rotary-wing operations,” said Chris Emerson, president of Airbus Helicopters Inc. and head of the North America region.
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Known for its power, versatility, and high performance in almost any condition, the H125 features dual hydraulics, dual channel engine FADEC, crash-resistant fuel systems, and advanced glass-panel
cockpit displays.
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The H135 is a market leader in emergency medical services (EMS), available in a wide range of dedicated EMS interior configurations.
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Aircraft operating lessor Aviation Capital Group (ACG), has received an additional US$200 million investment from its minority shareholder, Tokyo Century Corporation.
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Tokyo Century has held an investment in ACG since December 2017. With this additional investment, Tokyo Century’s ownership in ACG increases to 24.5%. Pacific Life will retain a controlling interest in ACG.
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Boeing has completed the acquisition of ForeFlight, a provider of innovative mobile and web-based aviation applications.
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ForeFlight has partnered with Boeing for the past two years to bring aviators Jeppesen's aeronautical data and charts through ForeFlight's popular mobile platforms. Now, the teams will integrate talent and offerings to bring innovative, expanded digital solutions to all segments of the aviation industry.
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The acquisition of ForeFlight aligns with Boeing's growth strategy of complementing organic investments with targeted, strategic investments that position the company for long-term growth.
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Terms of the approved deal are not being disclosed and do not affect Boeing's financial guidance or the company's commitment to returning approximately 100 percent of free cash flow to shareholders.
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Headquartered in Houston, Texas, ForeFlight has approximately 180 employees.
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Leonardo has announced at Heli-Expo 2019 a substantial reinforcement of its helicopter training capabilities and services in the USA with the establishment of a new Training Academy within its production facility in Philadelphia. The new purpose-built campus is expected to be completed in 2020.
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With a US$65 million multiyear investment, the new Training Academy will meet the increasing demand for comprehensive training services for pilots, cabin crew and maintenance technicians as the North and Latin America helicopter fleet grows. In 2018 over 10,000 students have been trained by Leonardo worldwide.
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The Training Academy will also introduce a full set of dedicated services for the global customers of the AW609 tiltrotor, as mass production starts ahead of FAA civil certification, and the first US AW169 light intermediate helicopter Full Flight Simulator, both developed in collaboration with CAE and based on the CAE 3000 Series FFS. The Training Center will also host Rotorsim USA, a Leonardo-CAE joint venture which has delivered nearly 250,000 training hours for Leonardo helicopters products.
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The 60,000 ft² US Training Academy will fully mirror Italy’s Sesto Calende training syllabus approach from ground to flight training, providing a one-stop-shop for digitalized course, flight, simulation, mission specific and maintenance training.
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Airbus Helicopters has selected the Pratt & Whitney PW206B3 engine to power the Airbus H135 IFR-certified helicopter the company is proposing for the U.S. Navy helicopter trainer replacement. Company officials made the announcement at the 2019 Heli-Expo industry trade show in Atlanta.
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The H135, which is IFR certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, allows more efficient training of new pilots in environments and scenarios most similar to the Navy’s warfighting rotorcraft fleet, creating opportunities for better cost and operational synergies compared to single-engine trainers.
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It is a technologically advanced aircraft and one of the safest in its class, due in part to its advanced Helionix avionics system, with color digital multi-function displays, a four-axis autopilot, Integrated Flight Management System, and engines with Full Authority Digital Engine Control and one engine inoperative (OEI) training mode.
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Lease Corporation International (LCI) has grown its Australia-based fleet of helicopters to 14 Leonardo AW139s with the arrival of two aircraft.
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The two AW139s are being transitioned by LCI customer, Babcock International Group company, from Aberdeen, United Kingdom to Karratha, Western Australia, where they will be operated by Babcock Australasia, providing offshore transportation for a leading oil and gas producer.
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The two helicopters join LCI’s fleet of 12 AW139s already based in Australia, ten of which are used on EMS (emergency medical services) operations.
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Six of these aircraft are also operated by Babcock, deployed on behalf of Air Ambulance Victoria
providing aero-medical care service in emergencies across the state as well as rapid transport service for patients between major and rural hospitals. Two are used by Babcock Australasia for offshore missions.
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AJW Group has expanded its spares support services with Latvian charter airline, SmartLynx Airlines.
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AJW and SmartLynx have agreed a new contract to cover the supply of consumables and
expendables for the entire SmartLynx fleet and an extension of the existing PBH to cover the airlines rapidly growing A320 fleet.
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SmartLynx Airlines, previously LatCharter Airlines, is a ACMI and charter airline with its head-quarters in Riga, Latvia. AJW Group has supported the airline since its inception – marking more than 10 years in partnership. The fast-growing airline has seen over 2.5 million customers travelling to countries across Europe, Africa and Asia.
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Virgin Atlantic, Air France and KLM have announced their first codeshare agreement – creating new transatlantic travel options to and from North America, and providing more opportunities to earn frequent flyer miles.
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The partnership makes it easier for customers to build their ideal trip across the Atlantic by combining flights operated by Air France, KLM, Virgin Atlantic and Delta. Customers booking on a codeshare benefit from seamless connections, and a single booking reference. Customers travelling on codeshare flights will also be able to earn miles, and redeem them via their own airline loyalty scheme.
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Delta is building on its successful partnerships with Air France, KLM and Virgin Atlantic, giving customers from these airlines more opportunity to fly on Delta’s transatlantic services. Virgin customers travelling between the United Kingdom and the US now have the choice to connect onto all of Delta’s flights over Amsterdam and Paris. Meanwhile Air France and KLM customers have additional options to fly either nonstop or via the UK on all Delta services to the US.
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Virgin Atlantic, Delta and Air France–KLM are set to form an expanded joint venture later in 2019. Subject to final clearance from regulators, the airlines will be founding members of a US$13 billion transatlantic partnership for customers between the UK, Europe and North America, offering over 300 daily transatlantic flights, 108 non-stop routes, and over 340 destinations.
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Universal Avionics (UA), an Elbit Systems Company, has named Dror Yahav to the position of Chief Executive Officer for the company, effective April 10, 2019.
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Yahav transitions to CEO as his predecessor, Paul DeHerrera, retires after 25 years of service with UA. The Company's Board of Directors accepted the request of DeHerrera to retire from his position in the upcoming month, and the Board confirmed the appointment of Yahav as his successor.
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Yahav joined Elbit Systems in 2001 and has been serving as Vice President of Commercial Aviation in the Aerospace Division for the past eight years.
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The Tanzanian flag carrier has started implementation of ADSoftware’s solution to manage its fleet of Bombardier Q400, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the new A220 (formerly known as CS300) aircraft.
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The move is part of an overhaul of the operator’s maintenance processes and will facilitate its efforts to optimize operations. The fleet is one of the newest on the African continent, Air Tanzania being the first African operator and the fifth airline globally to receive the A220.
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With these changes the operator needed a solid partner for its Maintenance Information System. A thorough selection process led to the selection of ADSoftware solution, Airpack. The main advantages were the comprehensive set of functionalities offered, the user friendliness of the software and the tailored implementation service with an aircraft data expert dispatched on-site soon after contract signature.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
March 8, 2019 – Arizona, USA
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