Med-Trans Corporation, a leading provider of air medical transport services, has ordered its 14th EC135 helicopter from American Eurocopterec135-med-trans-florida1 in the last six months.

American Eurocopter announced the latest order Thursday at the Heli-Expo 2013 trade show in Las Vegas. The order, along with three others placed in December, is part of an agreement with Med-Trans announced in September that included 10 firm orders and six options. With the latest conversion of an option to a firm order Med-Trans has committed to the purchase of 14 of the 16 aircraft.

“Med-Trans rapid growth and its success with the EC135 have led it to accelerate its plans for acquiring the EC135s faster than originally anticipated. We are grateful to Med-Trans leadership for the trust and confidence they have shown in the EC135 and in our company,” said Treg Manning, Vice President of Commercial Sales and Marketing for American EurocoptThe EC135 has established itself as one of the premier helicopters in the U.S. air medical transport market. Med-Trans initially selected the EC135 as the platform for many of its life-saving air medical programs in 2007 with the purchase of eight EC135s and eight options. Med-Trans now has 24 EC135s in its fleet.

“We continue to increase the number of EC135’s in our fleet as it is a very reliable and proven aircraft, allowing us to offer an airframe to meet and exceed our health care partners expectations,” said Rob Hamilton, Chief Operating Officer of Med-Trans. “The newest order of EC135’s will assure that we keep up with our continued growth at an economical operating cost and ultimately maximize patient care throughout our established service areas.”

Nearly 1,100 EC135s are in operation globally and around 50 percent are in service with emergency medical service providers. Since the series introduction in 1996, the EC135 fleet has logged about 2.6 million flight hours. In the last 10 years the EC135 has accounted for nearly 80 percent of all light twin-engine helicopters put into use in the U.S. by emergency medical service operators.

About Med-Trans

Med-Trans Corporation, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is a leading provider of air ambulance programs throughout the United States. A proven solution to our partners, Med-Trans offers an array of customized air medical program designs including hybrid models, community based models or traditional hospital-based models. The company’s extensive fleet rapidly delivers teams of highly trained professionals to patients, striving to provide the patient with the best possible outcome.