Leonardo's leadership in the world market for twin-engine helicopters for VIP / corporate transport continues to grow with new orders announced at LABACE 2022 (Sao Paulo, Brazil, 9-11 August) and including two AW169s and one AW109 Trekker. Specifically, an AW169 and AW109 Trekker will be delivered to a private operator in the fourth quarter of 2023. The other AW169 helicopter will be supplied to its operator in the third quarter of next year. The helicopters will be equipped with dedicated configurations and highly customized interiors and will benefit from complete technical assistance packages provided by the new Itapevi Logistics Support Center.
These orders bring the total of AW14s purchased by VIP operators in Brazil to 169 units, confirming the growing market success for this latest generation helicopter model since its certification obtained in 2015. The AW169, the first new helicopter in its category to enter the market in over 30 years, presents multiple innovations and uniquely combines the reduced operating costs of light twin-engine helicopters with greater load capacity, range and volume on board. The comfort available in the cockpit and cabin for pilots and passengers is also ensured by the ability to use one of the two engines as an auxiliary power unit mode (APU - Auxiliary Power Unit mode) capable of keeping the air conditioning and heating system functioning on the ground and radios. This helps to create an ideal internal environment and allows crew and passengers to use essential on-board equipment in any weather condition, keeping the rotors stationary and thus ensuring greater safety, lower noise impact and fuel consumption, consequently also reducing related emissions. . The modern digital cockpit is equipped with touch screen technology and a versatile presentation of information ensuring greater awareness of the operating panel for pilots, thus reducing their workload and increasing the level of safety.
The AW109 Trekker benefits from the extraordinary success of the AW109 light twin-engine helicopter series, a benchmark in this category in Brazil. Leonardo's first helicopter in this class equipped with skids, the AW109 maintains the fuselage, large cabin and top performance of the AW109 Grand while offering greater load capacity and competitive costs, proving to be the ideal choice to meet the needs of operators in terms of capacity and cost / effectiveness ratio. The AW109 Trekker is equipped with the latest generation Genesys Aerosystems avionics that can be configured according to the operator's requirements: one or two pilots, visual or instrument flight.
With a market share of over 45% in the last decade, Leonardo is a leader in the sector of VIP / corporate twin-engine helicopters, for applications such as private, charter and government transport, thanks to the most modern and extensive range characterized by models with avionics and systems. state-of-the-art navigation, the best performance, the highest safety and certification standards. There are over 900 Leonardo VIP / corporate helicopters in service around the world today. Almost 25% of these are based in Latin America. Starting from the consolidated characteristics of the Company in terms of design, technology, philosophy of services and values in the field of executive transport, in October 2021 Leonardo presented the new Agusta brand in order to launch new initiatives in the reference market while keeping faith with its own tradition made up of unique experience and excellence in the sector. LABACE is also the first aeronautical show in the region where the new Agusta brand is presented together with the first range of services dedicated to VIP transport.
