News
Milestone to provide five Airbus H145s to Aramco
September 12, 2018 By Helicopters Staff
Helicopter leasing company Milestone Aviation Group and Airbus Helicopters signed a deal to provide five H145s to Aramco Overseas Company, a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, a global petroleum and chemicals enterprise.
Reaching an agreement on five H145 are: (Front row The five aircraft are sourced from Milestone’s orderbook with Airbus. The aircraft are expected to be delivered to Aramco over the next 12 months. Aramco’s new commitment to five light-twin-engine aircraft is in addition to the 24 medium aircraft that Milestone currently has contracted on lease to Aramco.
“Aramco’s trust in Milestone’s ability to deliver certainty of execution — coupled with our financial and technical capabilities — is greatly appreciated by our team.” said Daniel Rosenthal, president and CEO of Milestone. He explains this long-running partnership with Aramco, particularly around its “comprehensive medium and light-twin fleet renewal program” now places Aramco as one of Milestone’s largest global customers.
“We are pleased that Aramco has selected the H145 for its light-twin fleet renewal program in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is a key and historic partner for Airbus and home to our subsidiary in the region,” said Bruno Even, CEO, Airbus Helicopters. “We also thank Milestone for enabling the introduction of the H145 to a new operator through their long-standing relationship with Aramco and their existing orderbook with Airbus.”
More than 200 H145s have been delivered to date and have collectively achieved more than 100,000 flight hours since 2015. Airbus explains the compact H145 is well suited for high-intensity operations like offshore oil and gas transport, based on the helicopter’s large and flexible cabin, powerful engines and Helionix digital avionics suite.
Milestone, a GE Capital Aviation Services company, has a fleet of helicopters worth more than US$4.5 billion plus a loan portfolio and debt commitments of approximately US$400 million. The company has a forward order book of firm and option aircraft with an estimated aggregate purchase price in excess of US$3 billion. The company supports more than 44 customers in some 30 countries.
