Milestone leases rotorcraft to Bristow
Milestone Aviation Group has agreed the lease of two Leonardo AW189s and four Sikorsky S-92 helicopters to the Bristow Group
The aircraft will be employed by Bristow to carry out search and rescue (SAR) missions. Both AW189s are going to the Netherlands Coastguard, while the four S-92s will be deployed in Norway.
Under the agreement, Milestone completed a purchase-leaseback of a new AW189 helicopter with Bristow – the first SAR-enabled AW189 aircraft in the Milestone fleet. The second AW189 helicopter is subject to a lease extension, under which, Milestone has agreed to convert it to a similar SAR configuration.
“Bristow has been a partner of Milestone Aviation for many years, and we are very pleased to support them as they continue to expand their SAR operations,” said Pat Sheedy, CEO of Milestone Aviation. “As part of this deal, we are delighted to add the first SAR-enabled AW189 to the Milestone portfolio and to bring the advanced capabilities of this aircraft to a wider variety of customers operating mission-critical responses.”
Bristow entered into two 13-year ‘secured equipment financings’ with UK bank NatWest for up to £145 million last month.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca was a Junior Editor at the Voyageur Group. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.