New Helicopters from Record Order to Join SonAir Oil and Gas Fleet in Angola
Anaheim, California, 26 February 2014 – Today at Airbus Helicopters’ stand at the Heli-Expo exhibition, Milestone Aviation Group, the global leader in helicopter leasing, and SonAir, the largest African helicopter operator and a subsidiary of the Angolan national oil company Sonangol, announced that three of Milestone’s record order for 30 of Airbus Helicopters’ EC225’s will begin performing airlift duties for Angola’s oil and gas sector.
The arrangements announced today are part of a newly launched, long-term partnership between Milestone and SonAir to continue serving the oil and gas industry in the region.
Deliveries of the new EC225s are planned during the first and second quarters of 2014, with the helicopters joining Airbus Helicopters-built EC225, AS332 L2 and AS365 N3 rotorcraft already in the SonAir fleet.
“As the largest African oil and gas helicopter operator, we rely on the EC225, with its range, capacity and overall performance, to perform challenging missions in tropical environments. This transaction for near-term EC225 deliveries allows us to maintain our leadership position in the offshore oil and gas market,” said SonAir CEO João Andrade. “Milestone has provided us with customized, flexible terms on operating leases for EC225’s that meet our needs, allowing us to fulfill the requirements of our customers, delivering value and operational leverage for our company.”
Milestone Aviation Group is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and has concluded more than US$ 2.0 billion in lease transactions with customers that range from the largest global helicopter users to small- and mid-sized operators.
“SonAir is one of the world’s great helicopter operators and Angola is an important and growing region for offshore oil and gas production,” said Milestone Chairman and CEO Richard Santulli. “We are proud to announce what we intend to be a long and mutually beneficial partnership with SonAir. It is testament to the global demand and desirability of the EC225 and our strong relationship with Airbus Helicopters that we are able to meet SonAir’s requirements and initiate our partnership at this time.”
The EC225 is Airbus Helicopters’ latest version in its Super Puma family, providing a high-performance rotorcraft in the 10-11 metric ton category. This heavy twin-engine helicopter’s modern technologies, excellent useful load, five-blade main rotor and low vibration levels make it an efficient solution for oil and gas missions – including offshore and passenger transport as well as search and rescue (SAR) operations.
“This leasing arrangement with SonAir is another endorsement of the EC225’s capabilities to serve in the most demanding operating environments,” added Dominique Maudet, Airbus Helicopters’ Executive Vice President Global Business and Services. “Worldwide, some 30 different companies are flying the EC225, with the helicopter logging over 300,000 flight hours to date.”
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