Dallas 08 March 2017 19:04
- First VIP Japanese customer follows AW139’s established success in law enforcement, public services and electronic news gathering roles
- Four more AW139s have been delivered to fire fighting and disaster relief operators
- Nearly 160 Leonardo helicopters have been ordered in Japan to date
Leonardo announced today a further expansion of its already significant presence in the Japan’s helicopter market with new contracts and deliveries, bringing total orders close to 160 units and aircraft fleet to nearly 120 units to date.
A private customer has signed a contract for an AgustaWestland AW139 in VIP configuration marking the entrance of this largely successful type into the Japan’s corporate market. The aircraft is expected to be handed over later this year. Furthermore, the company and AW139 distributor in Japan Mitsui Bussan Aerospace announced the delivery from Leonardo’s facility based in Philadelphia of 4 additional AW139s for firefighting and disaster relief duties to the Tokyo and Sapporo Fire Departments and to the Mie and Tochigi Prefecture Disaster Relief Departments respectively. Two helicopters have completed the mission customization in Japan and will enter into service shortly. The other two helicopters will complete the mission customization soon. These latest deliveries bring the total number of AW139s in Japan to more than 50 confirming it the outright leader in the intermediate category in the country and used for a number of roles including firefighting, disaster relief, search and rescue, law enforcement, electronic news gathering and now also executive transport. Over 1,000 AW139s have been sold to more than 250 customers in around 70 countries worldwide to date.
Leonardo success in the Japanese helicopter market continues to grow with strong sales in recent years across its complete commercial product range. Company’s regional business headquarters, based in Tokyo, has been supporting the company’s growing business in Japan since 2008. The helicopter fleet in Japan is also supported by four authorized service centers which provide maintenance and repair services, confirming Leonardo commitment to current and future rotorcraft requirements in Japan.