UK operator Helibanners has purchased an EC120B, with which it will operate corporate and executive helicopter flights. The aircraft has been modified to comply with CAA regulations and will be based at Denham in Buckinghamshire.

According to Helibanners' Reuben Spiring the company had considered a Bell JetRanger or a Eurocopter Twin Squirrel prior to choosing the EC120B, that would allow it to combine both transport and banner advertising sectors of the company. However, the layout of the aircraft and the fact that it would often have to land in grassy fields made it unsuitable for executive work, Spiring said.

Helibanners already operates a Twin Squirrel to carry advertising banners for corporate clients, many of whom go on to use the company's executive charter services.

The company became one of the first in the UK to be licensed to fly advertising banners beneath helicopters. The system used to attach the banner to the helicopter has inbuilt safety features and is the subject of a patent.

The banner is delivered to the pickup site by road and taken by helicopter over the desired flight route at a cruise speed of 35 knots.

Helibanner's services are used all over the world, in countries like the US, India and Japan, where it subcontracts the helicopter work. Only a handful of helicopter operators currently offer a banner advertising service, Spiring says.

Its clients include Qantas, the News of the World and Nationwide building society. The EC120B's first job since arriving in the UK was to fly banners and transport staff from the Anglo-Irish bank at the Cheltenham Races.

Helibanners is considering acquiring another helicopter and

also plans to launch a corporate entertainment and event division

in London.

Although Spiring says that the company does not need to advertise its services a great deal, he believes that helicopter operators could market themselves better by explaining to potential corporate clients how using a helicopter could benefit the business.