Air Medical Group Holdings places an order for 21 Airbus helicopters for air medical missions
Longstanding Airbus Helicopters customer Air Medical Group Holdings (AMGH) will add a total of 21 helicopters to its fleet for air medical transport missions, announced at the Heli-Expo 2019 trade show in Atlanta. The agreement consists of a mix of single-engine H125 and twin-engine H135 helicopters, with nine of the orders confirmed in 2018 and deliveries planned over three years beginning in 2019.
“This order will support our company’s fleet replacement and growth in the air medical market. In our operation across the United States we perform a critical care transport for a patient every ten minutes and must always be ready at any moment,” said Fred Buttrell, President and CEO of AMGH. “The H125 and H135 offer an ideal configuration for our various missions, and bring along with them the high level of support we have come to expect from Airbus.”
AMGH is one of Airbus Helicopters’ largest customers, with a current Airbus fleet of nearly 85 helicopters. In 2018, the company merged with ground ambulance operator American Medical Response (AMR) to form Global Medical Response (GMR), a leading medical transportation company. GMR operates in total some 306 helicopters, 7,000 ground vehicles, 100 fixed-wing aircraft and 111 fire vehicles and transported more than 13 million patients in 2018.
“The GMR teams are one of the best in the business. We are committed to fully supporting their current fleet, as well as their upcoming H125 and H135 deliveries, while they focus on finding the best solutions to support their rotary-wing operations,” said Chris Emerson, president of Airbus Helicopters Inc. and head of the North America region. “We are extremely proud to provide them with the helicopters they rely on to save lives every single day.”
Known for its power, versatility, and high performance in almost any condition, the H125 features dual hydraulics, dual channel engine FADEC, crash-resistant fuel systems, and advanced glass-panel cockpit displays. More than 700 of the latest version of the H125 are currently in operation around the world. In North America, the H125 is built by Airbus Helicopters Inc.’s facilities in Columbus, Mississippi.
The H135 is the market leader in emergency medical services (EMS), available in a wide range of dedicated EMS interior configurations. Its cabin volume provides ample room for patient care and allows direct access to the patient by the crew. To date, the more than 1,300 H135s in service for 300 operators in 60 countries have accumulated five million total flight hours.
Airbus Helicopters is the leading provider of helicopters to the air medical transport industry. Approximately 55% of the 2,500 helicopters EMS helicopters flying in the world today are Airbus Helicopters. In the U.S. alone, more than half of all new air medical helicopters sold in the last decade were produced by Airbus.