Mark Huber is an aviation industry veteran who has worked in the flight training, aircraft sales, aircraft component, and airport development businesses. He has flight time in more than 50 different and diverse aircraft, including helicopters, aerobatic aircraft, vintage warbirds, jet fighters, business jets and turboprops, and transport-category aircraft. He has jumped out of several of these—on purpose—with a parachute. His defense and aviation journalism has been published in a variety of national and international periodicals.

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Mark Huber

Leonardo (Booth 11454) is highlighting its&nbsp;new "Agusta" branding of its AW line of VIP and corporate helicopters along with its “Casa Agusta” upscale urban heliport terminal concept that can be replicated in multiple markets, is modular, and easily transportable.

 


"Leonardo Helicopters managing director Gian Piero Cutillo said,&nbsp;“With Agusta we give our VIP operators a strong brand that they can easily recognize and identify with, a sign that embodies their desire for excellence and quality with a personal touch and distinction, which includes their flight experience. We want them to be themselves before takeoff, during flight, and upon arrival at their destination, setting them apart from others. The strength and recognition of the Agusta brand legacy still continue&nbsp;to live on in this particular market segment.”&nbsp;

 


Launch of the Agusta brand late last year follows a similar move by Airbus when it announced Airbus Corporate Helicopters (ACH) in 2017&nbsp;and draws its name from the heritage of the company.&nbsp;Formed in Italy in 1923 by Giovanni Agusta, the Agusta company&nbsp;began producing helicopters under license from other OEMs—most notably&nbsp;Bell&nbsp;in 1952—and began developing its own indigenous civil helicopter, the Agusta A109 light twin, in the late 1960s. It then merged with Britain’s Westland Helicopters in 2000 to form AgustaWestland, later rebranded Leonardo Helicopters in 2017, a nod to&nbsp;15th and 16th Century Italian artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci, widely credited with devising the first concept for the helicopter.

 


While not plunging deep into details, many of which remain under development,&nbsp;Barbarossa&nbsp;told&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;that the Agusta branding—and the bespoke interiors that go along with it—is designed to recapture the cachet of sleek, fast machines with Italian styling that belongs to “the specific market segment.” She noted the brand and its program benefits will be applied to almost all Leonardo civil helicopters including the AW609 civil tiltrotor.&nbsp;The lone exception will be the AW09 turbine single, an aircraft that remains under development.&nbsp;

 


Barbarossa&nbsp;held out the possibility that Agusta would partner with other luxury brands—much like Airbus Helicopters did with Mercedes-Benz and Hermes—but that “is not the case for now.” Like ACH, she added that Agusta would offer customers a range of turnkey solutions with regard to helicopter operations.

 


Manuela Barbarossa, head of the VIP/corporate segment for the company, said the “Casa Agusta"&nbsp;terminal is not only modular but scalable and will provide needed infrastructure and a pathway for the advancement of urban air mobility. “It was created to support vertical lift operators now and to set up the right level of service and infrastructure to create the city of tomorrow.”

 


According to the company, the concept “will support the development of a network of point-to-point connections for both urban transfers and connections between cities, while meeting the growing demands for sustainable and modern vertical lift mobility, as well as greater access to urban areas.&nbsp;VIP and charter services users and passengers will be provided with levels of service typically available in larger private airport facilities far from downtown and urban areas.”

 


The design of the terminal will be&nbsp;eco-friendly&nbsp;through the use of recycled materials It is also modular,&nbsp;transportable, and can be replicated in multiple markets.&nbsp;

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