First H145 in New Zealand to achieve 2,000 flight hours

Airbus Helicopters customer HeliOtago has recently achieved 2,000 flight hours with its H145 in the first two years of its operation. The H145 entered into service in the South Island of New Zealand in 2019 and in its support of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) missions, the aircraft has achieved a dispatch rate of 100%, with an availability rate of 98%. 

Graeme Gale, Chief Pilot and Owner Director of HeliOtago, said “The Airbus H145 is a star performer in our fleet, and the best in its class for HEMS missions. The capability of the aircraft and the flexibility of the configuration make it extremely effective for the HEMS support we provide in the South Island. To have achieved the 2,000 flight hours in the H145 in only two years of operation is a testament to the excellence of this aircraft and the extremely high availability rating we’ve had.” 

The H145’s compact footprint, unobstructed cabin and flat floor from nose to tail lends itself to a range of applications, including one or two pilots and either eight or 10 passengers in each configuration. It also has a wide range of rapidly and easily interchangeable operational equipment, such as emergency floats, rescue hoist, searchlight and cargo hook, making it especially tailored for EMS missions. 

Christian Venzal, Managing Director of Airbus Helicopters Australia & New Zealand, said “We congratulate HeliOtago in achieving the 2,000 flight hour milestone in such a short operational time. It’s great to see how effective the H145 has been in providing such fantastic HEMS support to the South Island of New Zealand.”

The best-selling H145 family has close to 1,500 helicopters in service around the world and has clocked more than six million flight hours.

Airbus Helicopters in New Zealand has been supporting our aviation customers’ needs for more than 30 years in-country, with sales, maintenance repair and overhaul, tooling and technical support in both the North and South Islands. We also provide dedicated in-country technical representatives in both Christchurch and Auckland, who work collaboratively with our customers to provide dedicated support on their specific aircraft.