First leased AW189 delivered to LCI, then back to AW Training Academy

First leased AW189 delivered to LCI, then back to AW Training Academy

14-Oct-2014 Source: LCI

Lease Corporation International (LCI), the aviation leasing arm of the Libra Group, has become the first aircraft lessor to take delivery of the new state-of-the-art AW189 helicopter.

The particular aircraft is being placed on long term lease with the AgustaWestland Training Academy, and will be used as part of the conversion-to-type training of pilots to fly the new AW189 – deliveries of which are accelerating to customers all over the world.

This AW189 is the first of an initial commitment for 16 AW189’s, with additional options, which LCI Helicopters has ordered, and these will be offered for lease to operators in a number of roles including Offshore Oil and Gas, Search & Rescue and aero-medical transport.

Crispin Maunder, Executive Chairman of LCI, says: “Modern, versatile aircraft such as the AW189 are without doubt the helicopters of the future and they will form an integral part of LCI Helicopters’ fleet development in the years ahead.”

“We believe that the efficiency and innovation of next generation aircraft such as this coupled with the flexibility of leasing are a winning combination.”

LCI Helicopters is the fourth customer to accept delivery of the AW189, following deliveries to Bristow, Gulf Helicopters and Weststar Aviation Services.

The AW189 was designed in response to the growing market demand for a versatile, affordable, multirole medium helicopter and is optimized for long-range missions with orders for 130 helicopters signed already.

LCI Helicopters’ has a fleet of delivered and ordered helicopters approaching 90 new units, including the market-leading AgustaWestland AW139, AW169 and AW189 helicopters and next-generation Airbus Helicopters EC175 and the newly-unveiled Airbus EC225e, for which LCI is a launch customer.

LCI announced almost US$1 billion in new orders at the HAI Heli-Expo in Anaheim, California, earlier this year and has also attracted investment of more than US$100 million from KKR Financial Holdings, LLC, to address growing oil and gas sector demand, as well as search and rescue and air ambulance services.

Since its inception in 2004, LCI has acquired fixed wing and rotary aircraft with a combined value of approaching US$6 billion.

LCIH will be attending this year’s Helitech conference in Amsterdam, Crispin Maunder and Michael Platt will be present along with the LCI Helicopters Marketing Team at Stand H18.

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