Milestone Aviation Inks $400 million-plus Deals with Eurocopter, Sikorsky

In two separate deals here yesterday, global aircraft finance company Milestone Aviation Group (Booth No. 7010) announced with OEMs Eurocopter (Booth No. 1917) and Sikorsky Aircraft (Booth No. 6148), respectively, orders for 16 Eurocopter EC225s and three Sikorsky S-92s. The EC225 order is valued at $480 million. Terms of the S-92 contract were not disclosed.

Deliveries of the EC225s were said to commence next year with Milestone taking approximately three aircraft per year. In the Sikorsky deal, Milestone will take two S-92s in the second half of this year with the third delivery in early 2013. The aircraft are intended for lease to Milestone customers, and some of them may have already found a home. Milestone also announced yesterday a leasing agreement with Bristow Group for five large helicopters worth $125-$135 million.