New orders affirm Airbus Helicopters’ leading position in North American air medical helicopter market

#AMTC22 #HEMS #H125 #H130 #H135 #H145

Tampa, FL, 25 October 2022 – Airbus Helicopters continues to be the leading provider of helicopters to the North American air medical transport industry, with both new and long-standing customers from around the continent placing orders.  More than 35 new single and twin-engine Airbus helicopters were sold in the air medical market alone over the past 12 months.

“Airbus is proud to support our partners in the air medical industry with the most comprehensive line of aircraft that ensure they can perform their mission of caring for patients each day,” said Romain Trapp, President of Airbus Helicopters, Inc. and Head of the North American region. “We recognize that helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) providers rely on their helicopters to save lives, and we remain dedicated to providing them with state-of-the-art options they can count on when minutes matter.” 

Highlights include Atrium Health, which will enhance its MedCenter Air emergency and critical care patient transport services in the Carolinas with the addition of three new twin-engine H135 helicopters. These aircraft will join the company’s existing H135 fleet. 

Global Medical Response (GMR) has opted to add two new H135 aircraft to their fleet this year, on top of their existing fleet order from 2021. The operator flies a variety of Airbus products, including the H125, H130, H135 and H145 family helicopters due to their proven reliability, and continues to grow their fleet in partnership with Airbus. 

These H135 additions come on top of orders for the helicopter by Stat MedEvac and North Memorial Health, both announced at Heli-Expo earlier this year.

New orders for the five-bladed H145 helicopter were placed by air medical operators located in the Northeast and Midwest United States. For example, Boston MedFlight placed a multi-year order for six H145 helicopters this year. The operator was the first air medical provider in the U.S. to place an order for the five-bladed H145 as announced at Heli-Expo. 

OSF HealthCare will add one H145 to its current fleet of four H145s serving Peoria, Bloomington, Peru, Galesburg and Rockford, Illinois. Mayo Clinic recently ordered two H145s to complement the one ordered in 2021, as well.

Another highlight is the purchase of a single-engine H125 by the Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Foundation, which will be donated to the Hawaii Fire Department to enhance their emergency medical services. This is the department’s first Airbus product and will also be used for search and rescue missions.

A leading helicopter in the single-engine HEMS market in the U.S., the H125 features the largest cabin in its class that can carry up to four people and medical equipment when configured for emergency medical transportation. 

The Airbus H135, the world-wide fleet leader for HEMS missions, is recognized as an excellent tool for the air medical transport industry. The lightweight rotorcraft offers the highest safety levels in its class, contributing to its position as the worldwide fleet leader in emergency medical services. The H135 features a spacious cabin that allows providers to directly access a patient in the event of an emergency. 

The H145 meets the needs of air medical operators, providing high performance, twin-engine reliability and flexibility with multiple EMS cabin interiors. The aircraft’s wide sliding doors and large rear clamshell doors facilitate safe and easy loading and unloading of patients. The five-bladed version of the helicopter, thanks to its innovative rotor system, offers customers with an increased useful load by 330 lbs, eased maintenance and a smoothened ride on-board, which benefits both crews and patients flying on-board the H145.

All of these additions build on a more than 50-year tradition of Airbus supporting HEMS operators as they work to save lives. More than half of all air medical helicopters flying in North America were produced by Airbus, and Airbus helicopters are flown by all of the continent’s major HEMS operators.