Airbus Corporate Helicopters (ACH) has secured a new order for its latest ACH160 helicopter from an experienced UK helicopter operator, where it will be used for general corporate purposes. This takes the ACH160 orderbook to 11 aircraft, of which four have been won in the UK.

Two other ACH160s have been ordered by a privately owned UK company which is also a long-time corporate helicopter user, and a fourth UK aircraft has been ordered by an existing private Airbus Helicopters VIP customer, to be managed by Isle of Man-based Luviair.

The H160 medium helicopter programme remains on track for certification at the end of 2019, to be followed by the first deliveries about one year later.

After recording 54 sales in 2017 following its launch at EBACE that year, ACH recorded 68 orders in 2018.

Mirroring sister brand Airbus Corporate Jets (ACJ), ACH provides an exclusive end-to-end ownership experience from first enquiry and ordering, through in-service support, to enhanced resale opportunities.

ACH is backed by HCareFirst, a premium support service aimed directly at the specific needs of operators typically recording low flight-hours but demanding worry-free aircraft availability when required.

Head of ACH Frederic Lemos says: “This substantial new business for the ACH160 even before certification is clearly demonstrating its very high level of acceptance in the market. These firm orders from highly knowledgeable customers are concrete evidence that the aircraft is addressing the needs of the most demanding operators.”

The full ACH helicopter range consists of the ACH125, ACH130, ACH135, new ACH145, ACH160 and ACH175 variants of its family of light and medium models. A range of premium-design aircraft completions, including bespoke solutions, is available for all models.