AgustaWestland has approved FlightSafety International’s facility in Lafayette, La., as a company-authorized training center with the addition of a level-D full-flight simulator for the new generation AW139. The manufacturer currently has orders for more than 840 of the medium-twin helicopters from approximately 220 customers.
Among its latest are eight from Australia’s Toll Group, which will be used for emergency medical services. As part of the agreement, Toll’s base in Bankstown near Sydney will also become an AgustaWestland authorized training center and home to the country’s first AW139 level D simulator. The Croatian police have also placed an order for a specially outfitted AW139 to be used for border control operations.
AgustaWestland (Booth 5111) has been hard at work filling those orders, tallying recent deliveries of a trio of search-and-rescue-equipped AW139s to the Joint Aviation Command of the United Arab Emirates, one EMS-configured AW139 to Australian Helicopters (leased from LCI) and the completion of an order of eight of the helicopters in a dedicated UH-139C mission configuration to the Italian police.
The company also announced it is ramping up its Middle Eastern product support offerings through AgustaWestland Aviation Services, the joint venture formed with Abu Dhabi Aviation in 2011. Plans include the expansion of component maintenance, repair and overhaul services in the region by the second half of the year along with introduction of capabilities to support the OEM’s latest products such as the AW189 and AW169.
