Off-shore operator Tex-Air Helicopters has purchased 11 Eurocopter helicopters for use in the Gulf of Mexico. The Houston, Texas-based company will take delivery of six AS350s by year-end, and seven EC120s will arrive next April. The aircraft will be used on contracts for Amoco and other oil companies.
The US Customs Service, meanwhile, has signed a contract for up to 40 AS350B2s for delivery over the next five years. Two aircraft will be delivered by year-end, taking the US Customs' existing fleet of AS350s to 21. The single-turbine helicopters are used on surveillance missions.
The European helicopter manufacturer has also announced smaller contracts, totalling 15 helicopters, from US operators including:
six EC135s for Stat MedEvac, an emergency medical service (EMS) programme in Pittsburgh ; two EC135s for the Texas-based Travis County Star Flight EMS programme; an EC135 for Washington DC's MedStar EMS programme, to replace a BK117; a BK117B2 for the LifeFlight EMS programme in Lake Superior, Michigan, to replace a BK117; an AS355N and an EC135 for corporate use by US company Industrial Communications; a corporate AS350B3 for the US Dreyfoos Group; a third AS350B2 for the Ohio State Highway Patrol and an AS350B2 for tour operator Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, taking its fleet to nine A350B2s and six AS350BAs.Source: Flight International
