Leonardo has made a number of announcements on the opening day of LABACE in São Paulo, which it says underlines the strength of its position in the Latin American helicopter market.
Gruppo Modena S.A. has been appointed as an official Leonardo Helicopters distributor for civilian customers in Uruguay and Argentina, focusing on AW119Kx, AW109 legacy, AW169 and AW139. Gruppo Modena, an established operator of AW109s and 139s, opened its account by announcing orders for two AW119Kx. As well as its operational and sales activities, the distributor is already an authorised service centre for the Uruguayan and Argentinian civil markets.
Meanwhile, Brazilian representative Gualter Helicopters has converted three of its 20 provisional orders for AW09s to firm orders. The three aircraft are bound for three separate customers who all intend to deploy the aircraft on executive transport/VIP missions.
Finally, an unnamed individual customer in Brazil has placed an order for an AW109 GrandNew. Leonardo says that these announcements reveal the importance of the Latin American market to the company, especially in the VIP and Corporate sector, with no less than 25% of the 900 Leonardo VIP/Corporate-configured aircraft based in the region.
