First Grand Helicopter Delivery to Russia

Released on Tuesday, July 15, 2008

AgustaWestland is pleased to announce that the first Grand light twin helicopter sold in Russia has been delivered to its private owner. The delivery of this Grand helicopter marks the entry into the Russian market of this best selling light twin for VIP and corporate transport. The Grand joins a number of AW119 and AW109 Power helicopters that are already in service with private and corporate clients in Russia.

The company, which has achieved significant success in recent years in Russia, sees even greater business opportunities in the country through the contract and distribution agreement recently signed with Oboronprom Corporation and Loyd's Investments Corp. This three-staged agreement also foresees the establishment of a number of maintenance centres, to support the expanding AgustaWestland fleet in Russia, and a joint production agreement of AgustaWestland helicopters in Russia for both domestic and international markets. The Grand is a new top-of-the-range light twin helicopter developed to meet a wide range of market requirements and provides levels of cabin space and payload that until now could only be met by larger, more expensive helicopters. The large unobstructed passenger cabin, together with superior performance, advanced avionics, low operating costs and excellent customer support are all reasons why the Grand has found such success in such a short time and become the standard for executive transport in the light twin class.

Orders for over 230 helicopters have been placed by almost 130 customers in almost 30 countries worldwide. The Grand is perfectly suited to perform a number of roles including VIP/corporate transport, EMS/SAR, offshore transport and law enforcement.