Milestone Aviation Group and GE Capital Aviation Services opened a new office in Sydney, effective May 1, 2017. With the opening of the new location, Milestone and GECAS are available locally to better support Australian customers with the company’s full suite of helicopter and commercial aircraft financing products.

“Now that we are on the ground with our Australian customers, we can provide them with better service and the most efficient financial structures,” said Robert Dranitzke, executive vice president commercial for Milestone. “GE has operated in Australia since 1896, and we are proud to join the GE legacy of investing in and finding solutions for customers in the country.”

GECAS’ commitment to the Australian market started in 2001 with an operating lease for Virgin Blue Airlines. GECAS’ combined total investments and assets on lease in Australia are nearly $500 million. This investment includes 17 helicopters valued at approximately $345 million on lease to operators such as Babcock, Bristow, CHC and LifeFlight Australia, plus five fixed-wing aircraft with Airnorth and Jetgo Australia and engine leases with operators such as Virgin Australia and Jetstar.

“With our new office in place and our continued focus on providing customized financing solutions to our Australian customers, we are expecting exponential growth in the next few years,” Dranitzke said.

Antony Snelleman, senior vice president commercial for Milestone Aviation, who will head the new office, said, “We are excited to grow our footprint in the Australian market, and we look forward to increasing our business with our fixed- and rotor-wing partners, including those in search and rescue, emergency medical services, and offshore oil and gas.”

The primary sales executives for customers in Australia are Brett Rankin, Milestone’s VP commercial – South Asia Pacific region and Aashish Sonawala, GECAS’ senior vice president, Asia region.