Oil And Gas Transport Company An Established AW139 Operator

A contract for 10 AW189 helicopters was signed Wednesday at the Paris Air Show between Era Group Inc. (“Era”) and AgustaWestland. This contract confirms and increases Era's commitment to the AW189 following the signing of a preliminary sales contract for five aircraft in July 2012. The aircraft will be used to perform long range offshore oil and gas transport missions.

“We are delighted to have signed this contract with Era, one of the largest and most important helicopter transportation providers in the oil and gas market,” said Emilio Dalmasso, Senior Vice President Commercial Business Unit, AgustaWestland. "As a well established AW139 operator, Era will benefit from the unique common design philosophy shared by the AW139 and AW189 as part of the AgustaWestland family of new generation commercial helicopters.”

The AW189 was designed in response to the growing market demand for a versatile, affordable, multirole medium helicopter. With deliveries set to start later this year, the new 8-tonne class, twin engine helicopter is optimized for long range offshore transport and SAR missions and has already received nearly 80 orders, making it the outright market leader in its class since its launch at Paris Air Show in June 2011. With the maiden flight performed in December 2011 and EASA civil certification is expected on schedule this summer with FAA certification to follow. The first AW189 helicopters will be delivered to customers in late 2013. The spacious cabin is configured with 16 seats as standard with the option for a high density 18 seat layout or a long range 12 seat configuration.

The cockpit design, incorporating the latest in advanced situational awareness technologies, reduces crew workload and enhances safety. The AW189 will meet the very latest international regulatory safety requirements (EASA / FAA Part 29, JAR OPS 3 / EU-OPS). The AW189 is unique in having a 50 minute ‘run-dry’ capable main gear box, exceeding current certification standards and offering unmatched safety and reliability for long range offshore operations.

The AW189 will benefit from the extensive and expanding AgustaWestland worldwide support network already serving the offshore oil and gas industry. A comprehensive array of simulator and training devices will progressively be made available to serve the worldwide AW189 customer base. The first AW189 Level D Full Flight Simulator, to be based at AgustaWestland’s Sesto Calende Training Academy in Italy, will obtain certification and become available in early-2014.

(Images provided by AgustaWestland)

FMI: www.agustawestland.com