The Helicopter Company (THC) has signed a deal with Airbus Helicopters within the two companies 2024 framework agreement that will see the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) company acquire eight more H145s. The aircraft, which are due for delivery in 2027 and 28 are destined for yet to be defined missions within the group as THC Group CEO Capt. Arnaud Martinez explained to RotorHub international in a post announcement interview “We don’t buy aircraft for the sake of it, we are buying aircraft that either THC, Heliconia or Rotortrade will need in the next two years. It’s difficult for me to tell you now, today exactly what we will do with the aircraft just that we know that we will need them”.
It is apparent one of the key drivers is of that need is the entry of Rotortrade into the leasing market announced last year “But while the decision has been taken very recently it is part of a strategy to be a 360 degree helicopter company we designed several years ago. During the growth of THC, we learned a lot lessons and had a lot challenges with leasing as an operator, the duration of the contract, the type of the aircraft, the close of this contract, so many obstacles that we could not find a solution to. So we decided to support by opening our own segment, our own leasing business, through Rotortrade”.
Looking ahead Martinez says THC is exploring the AMM sector specifically with events like the Expo an World Cup coming to Saudi Arabia in the coming years. “These are things we need to provide a safe urban air mobility solution. Also there will be a need to save people and that’s very close to my heart I’m proud to say that so har we have rescued more than 6,000 people, You see it’s more than buying helicopters, it’s about what we do with these helicopters. And I think that segment has been just for this, the sake of these 6000 people that we saved, and the people of their families that we impacted. That’s a fantastic outcome already.
Image: THC
