Agrarflug Helilift buys EC225

Agrarflug Helilift buys EC225

29-Mar-2018 Source: HeliHub.com

German operator Agrarflug Helilift has bought an Airbus H225.  The aircraft was the consecutive registration to the H225 which had the accident off Bergen in Norway in April 2016, and was shown on the local Norwegian Aircraft register as owned by “Sparebank 1 SR-Finans AS”.  Sparebank1 is a consortium of Norwegian banks.

Agrarflug specialises in leasing and sales of twin engine helicopters, and has built up a significant specialism in Bell 412s, 212s and 205s over many years.  In late 2015, BLR Aerospace announced that Agrarflug Helilift as the European distributor and focal point for their FastFin sales to the commercial Bell Medium market.  The company is based at a heliport at Ahlen in central Germany.

This new helicopter is believed to be their first venture away from the Texas-headquartered manufacturer.  As seen in the accompanying photo, the helicopter has been painted all white and carries the registration D-HAFT.  Agrarflug say the 225 is mission ready and now available for sale, lease or ACMI charter (aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance) through one of their Operating Partners.  We expect it could see work in onshore heavy-lift or utility work.

There is a general view in the helicopter industry that the H225 will never take up a significant offshore role ever again.  In discussing Era Group’s results recently, CEO Chris Bradshaw told analysts “In our case and I think is the case for the majority of the Western operators, helicopter operators, we don’t believe that there is a detail safety case that exist today that would justify a return to service for those aircraft. … we don’t have any plan to put that back in operations.”

Asked whether the recent contract for two H225s with a Brazilian operator was a step forward, Bradshaw responded “Total obviously is a large French company. And I think they are dealing with an operator there who was willing to put the aircraft back in service.”.  He later added “I would also note that Petrobras in their recent tenders that they have issued for offshore helicopters in Brazil did not include the 225s as eligible aircraft.”

Jeremy Parkin – HeliHub.com


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