News
Milestone Aviation Group closes leases for Bristow
November 13, 2014 By Carey Fredericks
Nov. 13, 2014, Dublin, Ire. - Milestone Aviation Group has announced that it has closed seven of 12 helicopter leases to Bristow Helicopters Limited, an affiliate of the Bristow Group.
The helicopters will be used for civilian search and rescue (SAR)
services when Bristow Helicopters takes over delivery of UK SAR services
on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) in 2015.
Milestone will provide Bristow 11 Sikorsky S-92 helicopters and one
AgustaWestland AW189, which have a combined value of more than US$420
million.
Four of the S-92s are operating currently from the Stornoway and
Sumburgh bases in Northern Scotland. Three S-92 aircraft are in other UK
locations for training purposes. Four additional S-92 aircraft are in
production. The AW189 helicopter that Milestone will provide is one of
11 AW189s that Bristow will operate under the UK SAR contract.
“Today’s announcement is the culmination of three years working with
Bristow on this bid, and represents a textbook example of a successful
long-term partnership,” said Milestone Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer Richard Santulli. “We are pleased to do our part to support
Bristow and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency as they work to save
lives throughout the UK.”
“We are thankful to Milestone, our primary lessor, for working with
our affiliate Bristow Helicopters and supporting the implementation of
UK SAR,” said Jonathan Baliff, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Bristow Group Inc. “Milestone is a creative and committed partner. The
operational lease financing that Milestone provides is a vital part of
our capital plan and enables us to cost effectively serve the people of
the UK in executing our SAR mission to save lives.”
The Department for Transport in the United Kingdom awarded Bristow
Helicopters Limited a £1.6 billion contract to provide civilian search
and rescue services for the UK on March 26, 2013. Bristow began SAR
operations in 2013 from the Stornoway and Sumburgh bases. By summer
2017, 10 helicopter bases will be fully operational across the UK. In
total, Bristow Helicopters will provide 11 Sikorsky S-92 and 11
AgustaWestland AW189 helicopters that will be located at 10 bases across
the UK. Each SAR base will operate either two S-92s or two AW189s, and
one of each type can be deployed as needed to be used for training.
