Hong Kong's Sky Shuttle Helicopters plans to take delivery of its first AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter in the first quarter of 2009, about six months later than expected, and put it into its Hong Kong-Macau ferry service in April.
The company, which was previously known as Heli Express and is owned by Macau-based casino magnate Stanley Ho, ordered six AW139s in 2007 to replace its fleet of five Sikorsky S-76C+ helicopters. It plans to take delivery of all six by mid-2009, and gradually phase out the Sikorsky helicopters.
Although the deliveries were originally scheduled to begin in November, the company says that this delay is unlikely to adversely affect its business.
"It is not a major issue for us," says Sky Shuttle. "The new helicopters, due to be phased in from early 2009 offer technologically advanced avionics, enhanced performance and passenger comfort."
It is also spending HK$130 million ($17 million) to upgrade and expand its heliport and departure lounge, which is on top of the Hong Kong-Macau sea ferry terminal in Hong Kong, and expects to complete this work by the first quarter of 2009.
It is also building a second helipad and departure lounge, and this should be completed by the end of the second quarter.
"When complete, the heliport will provide much enhanced passenger facilities and a dual-pad operation with connecting taxiways. The entire building project, operational readiness of the facility and fleet renewal are expected to be complete by mid-2009," says the company.
Sky Shuttle provides cross-boundary helicopter shuttle services between Hong Kong and Macau, and Macau and Shenzhen in China.
Ho's company controls this and the main sea ferry operating between Hong Kong and Macau. He also owns Jet Asia, a business aviation and corporate jet charter firm based in Macau. These mainly support his key business, the various Macau casinos.
Visitor numbers to Macau have been forecast to increase thanks to a number of large-scale casinos that are due to open in the coming years, although the ongoing economic crisis has led to a slow-down in numbers over the last few months.
Observers believe that 2009 is likely to be a challenging year for the global casino business, and that could affect companies like Sky Shuttle and Jet Asia.
Source: Flight International
