Leonardo is pleased to celebrate another outstanding operational milestone for its best-selling AW139 with Era’s fleet achieving 200,000 flight hours. This accomplishment includes 166,000 operating flight hours and 34,000 hours in support of leasing partnerships.
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A prime civil helicopter customer to Leonardo, Era is one of the leading helicopter operators in the world and the longest serving helicopter transport provider in the United States. Era operates 36 AW139s, primarily for offshore oil-and-gas transport, while also providing emergency response services, firefighting, utility, and VIP transport leveraging the high mission versatility of the type. Era’s AW139s are flown under continuous advanced HUMS monitoring as a standard technology support capability ensuring enhanced reliability, safety and cost/effective maintenance.
In addition to the AW139s, Era’s fleet includes the AW189, AW119 and AW109 Power helicopters. Era’s flight time in all Leonardo models now exceeds 350,000 flight hours. In collaboration with Leonardo, Era also operates a Leonardo Service Center in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
“Era is committed to providing safe, reliable and efficient service to our customers throughout the world,” stated Stuart Stavley, Era’s senior vice president, operations and fleet management. “Our strong operational record and this flight hour milestone is a result of Era’s commitment to safety and the ongoing collaborative support between Leonardo and Era.”
An industry workhorse, the AW139 is ideally suited to offshore and public service missions thanks to its superior payload, range, speed, safety and twin-engine performance. The helicopter offers a comfortable travelling environment for up to fifteen passengers and an excellent operational capability — even in extreme temperatures and harsh conditions.
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Designed to meet and even exceed the latest certification requirements, the AW139 outpaces energy companies’ most stringent guidelines and has performed EMS/SAR operations in the largest variety of environmental and weather conditions globally. Over 1,100 AW139s have been ordered by more than 270 customers in around 70 nations to date, with over 950 delivered amassing in excess of 2.3 million flight hours.
Era is also the U.S. launch customer for Leonardo’s AW609 tiltrotor, the world’s first multirole commercial tiltrotor. The AW609 uniquely combines rotorcraft flexibility and turboprop performance into one versatile type, flying twice as fast and twice as far as a typical helicopter while retaining the ability to hover and take off and land vertically. Leonardo expects to make the first AW609 delivery to Era next year.
