Helicopter Industry Appears To Embrace 100% Operating Lease Financing

Helicopter leasing company Milestone Aviation Group said Monday at HAI’s Heli-Expo its portfolio of leased helicopters has surpassed $1 billion. Milestone is the first company ever to achieve this landmark. Since the company’s launch in August 2010, Milestone has closed more than 75 helicopter leases with 21 world-class operators in 20 countries, establishing itself as the world’s number one provider of helicopter leasing solutions.

“Through deals with some of the foremost helicopter operators in the world, we have provided over $1 billion in financing to the rotary market and emerged as the leader in the space,” said Richard Santulli, Milestone’s Chairman. “More importantly, we have formed wonderful partnerships with operators, the OEM’s, oil companies, banks and other stakeholders that mean much more than any single transaction. By listening and understanding our customers’ needs, and using our strong capitalization to act quickly and creatively, we are able to help our operating partners achieve their goals.”

“When we launched in 2010, our goal was to reach $2 billion in assets by our five-year anniversary. Today, I am pleased to announce that we are well on track not only to achieving this goal, but to surpassing it,” Santulli added.

The Milestone fleet is comprised of aircraft from AgustaWestland, Bell, Eurocopter and Sikorsky ranging from light-twin to heavy helicopters. The company primarily acquires its aircraft by stepping into operator delivery positions or through sale-leaseback of pre-owned machines. In addition, Milestone places forward orders with the OEM’s to provide access to aircraft types with long lead times. To date Milestone has announced over $1.1 billion in firm orders and options for the Sikorsky S-92 and the Eurocopter EC225, and is expected to double that amount by announcing $1.1 billion in new orders at HAI’s Heli-Expo.

William Kelly, Milestone’s CEO said the company is constantly striving to add value for its customers. "That means delivering when a partner needs to close a transaction and listening to their requirements to better serve their needs. That is why Milestone will announce this week the first of our revolutionary Power by the Hour and spare part agreements with OEMs and MROs," he said. "These programs will allow Milestone to use our scale to provide significant benefits to our partners. This is only the beginning of the innovation and value-add that we will bring to our customers.”

FMI: www.milestoneaviation.com