Canadian offshore oil-support operator CHC Helicopter has ordered 13 additional AgustaWestland AW139s and 12 more Sikorsky S-92s as part of its fleet renewal plan.
Under the agreements, CHC's Heli-One subsidiary will acquire the ability to support all of the newly introduced helicopter types, including the AW139, S-76 and S-92 and the Eurocopter EC225.
AgustaWestland AW139 © CHC Helicopter
CHC already operates eight medium twin-turbine AW139s, and deliveries under the new order will begin later this year and continue to late 2011.
The Vancouver-headquartered company has already ordered 16 heavy twin-turbine S-92s, and deliveries of the 12 aircraft under the new order will begin in June 2009 and continue to March 2012.
Sikorsky S-92 © CHC Helicopter
In March, CHC ordered 16 Eurocopter EC225 heavy twins to add to six already on order. The additional aircraft are to be delivered between late 2008 and late 2012.
The new orders reflect strong growth in the offshore-support market, and CHC says essentially all heavy helicopters, and 85% of medium helicopters, scheduled for delivery in fiscal year 2008 are committed to customer contracts.
In October, the company announced new contracts and renewals to provide helicopter transport services in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Namibia, Nigeria and the Philippines.
Concurrent with the new aircraft purchases, Heli-One will exit per-flight-hour support agreements with the manufacturers and acquire the ability to repair and overhaul the helicopters and their engines for CHC and third parties.
CHC, meanwhile, says it has reached agreement with the Royal Bank of Scotland and Export Development Canada to expand an existing lease finance facility by $225 million to a total of $390 million, enabling it to finance various aircraft types in multiple locations around the world.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
