Pilatus to acquire AirAlliance

AirAlliance Group, the parent company of air ambulance provider Unicair, has announced the sale of aviation services provider AirAlliance to aerospace manufacturer Pilatus.

The sale is part of a “strategic realignment”, and the deal is expected to be completed in the coming months, pending regulatory approval and the consent of the German Federal Aviation Office (LBA).

Pilatus has confirmed that René Petersen, the current Managing Director of AirAlliance, will remain with the company as CEO, and all of the firm’s 120-plus employees will be retained following the acquisition.

Founded in 1993, AirAlliance has been a long-standing seller of Pilatus aircraft, as well as a provider of maintenance services and flight training. It has also been an authorized Pilatus Sales & Service Center since 2014, overseeing sales and support for the PC-12 and PC-24 in Austria and Germany.

Alongside realigning to focus on its core air ambulance business, AirAlliance Group also stated that the partnership was intended to “create the conditions for a comprehensive modernization of Unicair’s fleet”.

Unicair plans to gradually replace its existing Learjet 35 and 45 aircraft with Pilatus PC-24s in the coming years. Pilatus, via AirAlliance, will also deliver services under a multi-year maintenance agreement.

German emergency air ambulance operator DRF Luftrettung has been awarded a new contract to continue its operations from two bases in the state of Saxony.