News Aircraft manufacturers
GDHF agreement to introduce 10 AW189s in the energy support market

Leonardo and helicopter leasing company GDHF, based in Ireland, signed a framework agreement to introduce 10 more AW189s in the energy support market, with deliveries expected in the 2027 to 2029 period. The announcement was made during an official ceremony held at European Rotors in Amsterdam.

“GDHF is very pleased to sign the Framework Agreement with Leonardo for 10 additional factory new AW189s,” said GDHF CEO Michael York. “GDHF has now committed to a total of 13 AW189s, and earlier this year we successfully introduced the first of these AW189s into our fleet. This large 10 times AW189 Framework Agreement will further enhance GDHF’s ability to support our customers globally and provide them additional highly effective AW189 super-medium helicopters on lease.”

The energy support market is expected to steadily increase over the next five years, driven by new field developments (including wind farm support and offshore SAR assisting the energy sector), in compliance with new environmental regulations and adoption of more advanced technologies. With nearly 500 helicopters of various types in service today to perform offshore transport,

Leonardo states it is the market leader for energy support with nearly 500 helicopters of various types in service today to perform offshore transport. Belonging to the AW family of products, the AW189 (8.3/8.6 tonne) combines payload and range with technologies to successfully operate a wide range of missions such as search and rescue, energy industry support, passenger transport, firefighting, and law enforcement.

Leonardo notes unique features of the helicopter include the capability of the main transmission to run without oil for 50 minutes and a built-in auxiliary power unit. The AW189 is available with more than 200 certified kits and is noted by Leonardo as being the only aircraft in its class featuring a Full Ice Protection System (or, alternatively, a Limited Ice Protection System) certified for use in Europe, U.S. and Canada.

After 10 years since its certification, more than 90 AW189s have been delivered to operators worldwide to date. Around 50 of these are used for offshore transport today and have surpassed 155,000 flight hours in operations in this market.

• Tweet

• Global Medical Response to add 15 IFR-configured Bell 407GXis to its fleet
• Former Liberal MP warns of tough times ahead with U.S. over NATO spending target