17 November 2011

DUBAI – AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, and Abu Dhabi Aviation, the largest commercial helicopter operator in the Middle East, on Tuesday announced the establishment of a joint venture in the UAE in the field of helicopter maintenance.

The two companies have formed a limited liability company named AgustaWestland Aviation Services LLC to carry out a range of services and activities for the sale of helicopter spare parts and accessories, helicopter/component repair and overhaul, customisation, modification and upgrading.

According to the evolution of future market requirements, the joint venture’s scope of activities could be further expanded to encompass special configuration development, component production and helicopter assembly. Leveraging on their respective competencies and businesses, the synergy generated through the Abu Dhabi Aviation and AgustaWestland joint venture will deliver a new level of customer support and services across the region. Customers will be offered a wide range of services in Abu Dhabi that have historically been available only from the manufacturer in Italy or the United States.

Nader Ahmed Mohammed Al Hammadi, chairman of Abu Dhabi Aviation, said: “We aim to be a global aviation company beyond its current international business scope, and the new joint venture is a step in the right direction. The joint venture will be of mutual benefit for both partners to further expand their range of services, capabilities and presence.”

“The demand for helicopter maintenance across the Middle East is growing and providing this service right at the doorstep of our clients is a benefit that will see huge returns in terms of overall industry growth,” he said.

“Our current capabilities provide services to our clients on a global basis with approximately 40 per cent of ADA’s business coming from outside the UAE. With 30 years of experience in the oil industry and having logged over 1,000,000 hours flying 
helicopters, ADA will be able to leverage its business performance 
strength to this partnership.”

In addition to its other helicopter and fixed wing fleet, Abu Dhabi Aviation also owns Maximus Air Cargo, the largest air cargo provider in the Middle East and is a 50 per cent shareholder of Royal Jet, the leading VIP charter company in the region.

Abu Dhabi Aviation operates one of the world’s largest civil fleets of 16 AW139s and has been an AgustaWestland Service Centre since 2005.

From its large and modern maintenance facilities located at Abu Dhabi International Airport, Abu Dhabi Aviation is uniquely positioned to support AgustaWestland’s remarkably successful AW139 and other models. Approximately one hundred AW139 helicopters are already in service in the Middle East, with a number of customers for both civil and military roles.