Italian helicopters come to Russia

The Italian helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland continues its active expansion into Russia. A joint project with Russian Helicopters was launched on June 22 in the town of Tomilino, Moscow region, to build an assembly facility for AW139 light twin-engine helicopters. The facility should open in 2011, and is expected to assemble five airframes during its first year.
The partners started their cooperation few years ago. The assembly line will be operated by the HeliVert joint venture, in which Russia holds 40% and Italy owns 60%. Russian Helicopters General Director Andrey Shibitov says the HeliVert paperwork should be signed this summer. "Almost all the documents have been initialed, now lawyers on both sides are ironing out the final details of the shareholders’ agreement," he says.
The partners are planning to ramp up annual production to 24 airframes by the year 2015. Total investment in the project stands at some 40 million euros. The joint venture should break even in eight years from launch. Its products will be marketed in Russia and CIS countries, and also will be distributed via AgustaWestland’s international sales network. There are as yet no firm orders for Russian-assembled AW139s, but undisclosed customers have together committed to some 10 aircraft.
The partners expect the demand for the AW139 in Russia to grow after the type receives local certification for a full ice-protection system in mid-2010. At the Moscow HeliRussia 2010 exhibition in May, AgustaWestland announced its first Russian AW139 customer – the Aviaservice company operating under the HeliClub brand. HeliClub currently has one AgustaWestland AW109 light helicopter, which has clocked 350 flight hours over the 18 months of operation in a variety of weather conditions, says General Director Alexey Barkhotov. The company plans to use its new AW139 that will be still imported, for charter passenger services from its heliport outside Moscow.
As of late May 2010, AgustaWestland had sold in Russia nearly 20 new-generation helicopters of different models. In 2009 only four of them were used by commercial operators that rest is evidently registered in general aviation sector. A company representative has told Russia & CIS Observer that under an agreement signed with Russia’s largest helicopter operator UTair Aviation in December 2009, AgustaWestland will assist the carrier with putting the AW139 in service over the next few years. UTair pilots and technical personnel have already done type training. Rather than buying the helicopters from AgustaWestland, the airline will most likely operate the rotorcraft in the interest of other Russian companies.
AgustaWestland has appointed commercial helicopter operator Aerosouz, based outside Moscow, as its authorized service center for Russia. Aerosouz will provide maintenance and repair services and maintain a spares inventory, helping the manufacturer provide an even higher level of service to its Russian customers. As the Russian fleet of AgustaWestland helicopters keeps growing, new service centers will be inaugurated across the country to maximize the fleet’s operational effectiveness.
Aerosouz, for its part, plans to expand to other Russian cities. Its services include light commercial helicopter operations, rotorcraft sales, after-sales support and pilot training.

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