Milestone delivers Omni H225 to Bond Offshore Helicopters

Airbus EC225 of Bond Offshore Helicopters

Leasing company Milestone has delivered a new Airbus H225 to Bond Offshore Helicopters, who will put it to work on the North Sea.

The helicopter was one of 16 that Milestone contracted for in early 2012, for delivery between 2013 and 2017. The original intention for the airframe – serial 2955 – was a lease to Brazilian operator Omni, and the helicopter was delivered in the full colours of the company. In late October, it was ferried on a German registration to the UK and put into storage with Vector Aerospace until Milestone found a new buyer. After repainting and some test flights in mid-February, the helicopter was finally ferried north to the Bond base at Aberdeen on 11 March for final preparations before it started commercial operations as G-CIWF.

At least two more new EC225s intended for Omni are currently in storage at the old Kassel Airport in central Germany. This storage facility also contains three new AS332L2 helicopters, which were registered in Aruba in early February 2015, and two EC225s which AgustaWestland took in part-exchange for new VVIP AW101s in late 2013.