Kjell A. Ostnes, Norway’s representative of Eurocopter has recently sold its EC120 and

AS350 helicopters.

The aircraft had been purchased to allow customers to try out the helicopters on a lease basis, before committing to a purchase. Commercial manager, Frode Ostnes said: “We decided to buy and lease these helicopters because they’re brand new products and we wanted to introduce them to the market. Consequently we have sold several helicopters.”

Since establishing in 1994 the company has concentrated on the sale (used and new) and service of helicopters.

Ostnes said that the demonstration models were sold on once they had served their purpose, he added: “The charter business is fairly buoyant, but we don’t want to compete with our customers by diversifying into the charter market.” The company’s business is almost entirely based around on and off-shore EMS, which accounts for 97 per cent of sales with the remainder taken by corporate clients.

The EMS side is entirely governmental, Ostnes said: “The most popular helicopter on the EMS side is the Dauphin, due to its size and speed. The smaller bases have used the BO 105s for a while now, but these are now being replaced by a new generation of helicopters, including the EC 135 and Agusta A109 Power.” Competition is arising from the different EMS operators being able to choose which helicopter

they buy from a list drawn up by the government.

Meanwhile, Kjell A. Ostnes has invested around 510,000 euros in its Gothenborg service centre, which caters for the Nordic region.

Ostnes explained: “The thought behind this centre is to increase efficiency by bringing Eurocopter service closer to the customer”. Operations will be overseen by a newly-recruited md and logistics manager.