Milestone Aviation Group, a GECAS company and the global leader in helicopter leasing, and Airbus Helicopters announced they will provide five H145s to Aramco Overseas Company, a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, a fully integrated, global petroleum and chemicals enterprise.

The five aircraft are sourced from Milestone’s order book with Airbus and are expected to be delivered to Aramco over the next twelve months. This latest lease commitment of five light-twin aircraft will be in addition to the 24 medium aircraft Milestone currently has contracted on lease to Aramco.

“Aramco’s trust in Milestone’s ability to deliver certainty of execution — coupled with our financial and technical capabilities — is greatly appreciated by our team.” said Milestone President & CEO Daniel Rosenthal. “We take pride in the fact that our long-term partnership approach to further assist Aramco with the introduction into service of their comprehensive medium and light-twin fleet renewal program now places Aramco as one of Milestone’s largest global customers.”

“We are pleased that Aramco has selected the H145 for its light-twin fleet renewal program in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is a key and historic partner for Airbus and home to our subsidiary in the region,” said Airbus Helicopters CEO Bruno Even. “We also thank Milestone for enabling the introduction of the H145 to a new operator through their long-standing relationship with Aramco and their existing orderbook with Airbus. The H145’s proven technologies, availability, and cabin versatility are the perfect tools to meet Aramco’s demanding requirements as a global leader in oil and gas.”

Compact in size, the H145 is the aircraft of choice for high intensity operations such as offshore oil and gas transport thanks to its large and flexible cabin, lowest maintenance costs in its class, powerful engines and Helionix digital avionics suite. More than 200 H145s have been delivered to date and have collectively achieved more than 100,000 flight hours since 2015.

Milestone Aviation Group, a GE Capital Aviation Services company, is the world’s leading helicopter leasing and financing company. Milestone has a fleet of helicopters worth over US $4.5 billion plus a loan portfolio and debt commitments of approximately $400 million. The company has a forward order book of firm and option aircraft with an estimated aggregate purchase price in excess of U.S. $3 billion. Milestone partners with helicopter operators worldwide, providing a wide array of financial and productivity solutions, including operating leases, purchase/leasebacks, secured debt financing, engine leasing and fleet advisory. The company supports over 44 customers in more than 30 countries serving a variety of industries, including offshore oil and gas, search and rescue, emergency medical services, police surveillance, mining and other utility missions.