Leonardo’s orders for its new AW169 medium twin helicopter are quickly approaching 200 with nearly 70 delivered worldwide, according to Michael Bucari, the company’s marketing manager. Here in the U.S., the AW169 is off to a comparatively slow start, but Bucari expects that to change quickly. “We will have approximately 10 AW169s delivered into North America by the end of this year or early 2019, five of which will be delivered with VIP configuration. More will be delivered into the North American market later in 2019. The North American market is really beginning to notice the AW169 for corporate and VIP missions. Its combination of cabin size, performance capabilities, safety characteristics, advanced avionics suite, and favorable acquisition and operating cost hit all of the key value indicators for this market.” Leonardo has partnered with three completion centers worldwide to provide executive/VIP interiors for the AW169: Adler, Air Concepts International (ACI) and Mecaer. Bucari said approximately 30 percent of the AW169s sold are ordered in corporate or VIP configuration. A typically equipped executive AW169 sells in the $10 million range.
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