AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, attends Dubai Airshow 2013 (November 17th – 21st) exhibiting its range of state-of-the-art helicopters and showcasing full scale mock-ups of the latest addition to its expanding and modern product range, the AW189 8 ton class twin engine and the AW169 4.5 ton class light intermediate helicopters.
Members of the exclusive AgustaWestland Family of new generation helicopters together with the best-selling AW139 intermediate twin, all three models share same design philosophy and outstanding mission capability, latest certification and safety standards, components as well as same approach to maintenance and training offering the market unique flexibility and cost/effectiveness.
More than 80 AW189s have been sold to customers worldwide so far, particularly in the offshore and search and rescue markets, and production aircraft of the launch customer are being assembled and flight tested. The AW169 programme development is progressing as planned, with four prototypes which has logged more than 470 flight hours so far, and is on track to achieve certification next year.
Over 100 AW169s have been sold to customers worldwide covering a wide range of applications including EMS, law enforcement, VIP/corporate transport, offshore transport and electronic news gathering.
AgustaWestland has a long tradition in the Middle East market and in recent years has significantly expanded its presence in the region with several military and commercial models sold or in operation such as the AW109 Power and Grand/GrandNew light twins, the AW139 intermediate twin, the AW169 light intermediate, the AW189 8 ton class twin engine, the Super Lynx 300 and the NH90 military platforms.
AgustaWestland has a solid presence particularly in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman. More than 210 new generation helicopters are on order in the area serving a number of customers providing as well comprehensive support and training services to cover regional requirements. The three models from the Family in particular have proved to be of significant success in the Middle East, with almost 150 helicopters in service or on order by major operators.
The best seller AW139, whose global sales now exceed 750 units and 600 aircraft already in service worldwide, has proved to be an outstanding success in the Middle East market, this region alone representing around 25% of the entire AW139 sales worldwide thanks to several orders in UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman for a range of commercial and government/military operations such as VIP/corporate transport, offshore transport, EMS/SAR, utility and homeland security. Its features make the AW139 an excellent example of modern dual use platform suitable to meet a range of demanding requirements.
AgustaWestland has seen an increasingly strong presence in the United Arab Emirates covering a range of commercial and government applications with many of its helicopter models. Leading operator Abu Dhabi Aviation (ADA) operates AW139s mainly for offshore transport purposes.
As for aftersales Abu Dhabi Aviation has been an AgustaWestland authorized Service Centre since 2005, with a joint venture named AgustaWestland Aviation Services LLC established in late 2011 to carry out a range of services and activities for the sale of helicopter spare parts and accessories, helicopter/component repair and overhaul, customisation, modification and upgrading. AWAS has rapidly progressed further and has been providing spares for the UAE operators of AW109 and AW139 models through a sub-branch set up at Abu Dhabi Airport Free Zone since last September. In December AWAS will also have the additional capability to conduct the four year repair and overhaul of floats and rafts for the same types.
A repair and overhaul facility in AWAS for some AgustaWestland proprietary dynamic components for the AW139 could be established in 2014. AWAS has already overhauled one AW139 and is currently overhauling additional helicopters subcontracting this activity to ADA. AgustaWestland has also partnered with Abu Dhabi Aviation and Mubadala to provide a range of advanced training services in the UAE. Falcon Aviation Services in the UAE also operates Grand/GrandNew light twin helicopters and has also signed a preliminary sales contract for two all new AW169 helicopters, marking the entrance of this state-of-the art model into the UAE market.
The Dubai Air Wing and the UAE Air Force also use AW139s to perform utility and VVIP transport operations while the Abu Dhabi Police operates the same type for law enforcement duties.
The best-selling AW139 is playing a key role in Qatar for a number of applications. The Qatar Armed Forces operate 21 multirole AW139s, including three dedicated EMS aircraft, used for utility, troop transport, search and rescue, border patrol, special forces operations, law enforcement and homeland security. Furthermore, Gulf Helicopters in Qatar has a total of 18 offshore-configured AW139s on order and today is an important customer for the AW189 in offshore configuration with a preliminary sales contract for 15 units signed in 2012.
Gulf Helicopters has recently been established as an AgustaWestland Authorised Training Centre. Doha-based Gulf Helicopters provides training services using an AW139 Level B Full Flight Simulator (FFS) further cementing the strong relationship between the two companies who will now jointly offer AW139 pilot training services to the market, whilst strengthening the growing global support and training footprint for AgustaWestland aircraft.
Equally strong is AgustaWestland’s success in Oman for government and military applications. The Royal Oman Police operate a fleet of AW109 Power light twins and AW139s for law enforcement missions. Sixteen Super Lynx 300 multi-role military helicopters are also in service with the Royal Air Force of Oman for land and maritime roles including utility, troop transport, armed escort, search and rescue, maritime patrol and border security. Additionally, Oman has also bought 20 NH90 TTH medium twin tactical transport aircraft. In Saudi Arabia leading operator Saudi Aramco operates a fleet of AW109 Powers and AW139s for offshore transport operations while Saudi Medevac will use the AW139 for emergency medical service duties.
AgustaWestland sees significant future business opportunities in the region for its range of helicopters. The AgustaWestland range of helicopters, which have outstanding performance in hot and high environmental conditions and feature the latest technology, are ideally suited to meet both commercial and government requirements.
