Baku, Azerbaijan, June 8
By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:
The Azerbaijani airline, Silk Way Helicopter Services (SWHS), is ready to become a service center for AgustaWestland in the region, the aviation portal ATO.ru quoted the airline's director general, Azer Sultanov, as saying June 8.
He said the SWHS is currently in talks with AgustaWestland to get a license.
After receiving the license, the airline will be able to service the AW139 helicopters, which are operated in the Caspian region, Central Asia, and the Middle East.
Today the airline, which has an EASA Part 145 certificate, independently supports the airworthiness of its aircraft of this type, performing base and line aircraft maintenance.
Seven AW139 helicopters are being operated in the airline's fleet, four of which are reserved for the main type of work - the offshore transport, and are also used for carrying out production tasks onshore.
Two aircraft sport medical equipment for transportation of patients, and one has VIP equipment.
"In the future, SWHS is ready to not only carry out maintenance, but also to conduct the training of flight personnel for other operators of the AW139," said the report. "The airline's head believes these services will be in demand in other countries."
In particular, said the report, over 20 AW139 helicopters are currently being operated in Russia, four of which were assembled at the local factory HeliVert (Tomilino), and about 17 aircraft are in use in Kazakhstan.
The company is also ready to render helicopter services in any offshore area outside Azerbaijan.
Today, the company carries shift workers and cargo to the fields in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. SWHS services are used by foreign oil companies, in particular BP (British Petroleum), Exxon, and Total.
SWHS also renders services for continued airworthiness in terms of outsourcing and management services for aircraft. The company is the only one in the region fully meeting the standards of the Association of Oil and Gas Producers (OGP).
Besides seven AW139 helicopters, two Sikorsky S-92 aircraft are based at the Zabrat airport, which are mainly used in the interests of foreign oil holdings and six Mi-171 aircraft. SWHS has an alternate aerodrome on an island in the Caspian Sea, which "is used as a transit point".
The company employs about 450 people. The pilots and technicians are train at the prestigious training centers in Europe, the USA and Canada. The Mi-171 training is held on simulators at the National Aviation Academy, part of the Azerbaijan Airlines state concern.
Edited by CN
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