Falcon and Leonardo sign three AW169 order with KOC

Falcon Aviation and Leonardo will place three new Leonardo AW169 helicopters on oil and gas operations with the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC).

The five-year contract, signed at the Dubai Airshow last November, will see the first two helicopters delivered in March and the third in April. This is the first deal that Falcon has signed with a Kuwaiti operator.

Falcon will supply the infrastructure for the helicopters, building a new hangar in Kuwait to store them in. It will also be supplying personnel as part of the contract, including offshore pilots, support personnel, and engineers.

“This is a significant strategic contract for us. It was a strong international competition and fortunately we won the contract, which takes us into Kuwait for the first time,” said Falcon Aviation COO and captain Raman Oberoi. “We see a unique opportunity to provide safe and reliable services to KOC. We will work together to build a sustainable oil and gas aviation support services increase efficiency and productivity.”

The original contract penned by KOC asked for two helicopters but Falcon added a third to the deal as a backup aircraft to make sure services are not affected during helicopter servicing or a potential grounding.

Leonardo’s comments:

Emilio Dalmasso, SVP commercial business unit, Leonardo Helicopters, commented on the deal: “We congratulate Falcon Aviation Services on this major achievement and are proud to contribute with additional AW169s to meet the operational requirement. The new contract builds on our successful ten-year partnership including Falcon’s commitment as launch customer of the AW169 in the Middle East.

“We are convinced the Kuwait Oil Company will significantly benefit from the capabilities, versatility and safety of this new generation helicopter, along with the great service and operational expertise of Falcon Aviation.”