Leonardo Leonardo announced today that the AW109 Trekker has been chosen as a new helicopter to support emergency medical service (EMS - Emergency Medical Service) operations from Rouen Hospital in Normandy, France. Equipped with a special configuration and dedicated interiors for rescue tasks, the helicopter will be delivered to the operator SAF Hélicoptères at the end of 2020 from the final assembly line of Vergiate (VA).
SAF Hélicoptères' offer based on the AW109 Trekker was judged the best for the helicopter rescue service following a thorough and rigorous tender procedure, outperforming the competition. The contract thus obtained by SAF Hélicoptères marks the entry of this type of Leonardo twin-engine light helicopter into the civilian market of France after the previous success of the AW109 Power and Grand models for helicopter rescue missions in the country. This result also expands the number of French civilian customers who use Leonardo's helicopters such as the AW109, AW169 and AW139 models for multiple roles, including rescue and VIP / corporate transport. The AW109 Trekker is also an ideal solution for meeting additional healthcare requirements in France in the future.
Tristan Serretta, CEO of SAF Hélicoptères said: “We are proud to be the new provider of helicopter rescue services from the Rouen Hospital. As a helicopter operator, we always try to offer our customers quality and economically sustainable solutions. We are happy to introduce Leonardo's AW109 Trekker to our fleet. The territory covered by the service will benefit from our solid experience and reliability for this type of mission, together with the Trekker's exceptional capabilities in terms of interiors, performance, advanced avionics and safety standards. We look forward to starting operations in support of the local community. "
AW109 Trekker
The AW109 Trekker keeps the structure, spacious cabin and high performance of the Grand helicopter at the top of the category, while offering greater payload capacity at competitive costs. The AW109 Trekker is thus perfectly suited to meet the stringent requirements of operators in terms of capacity and cost / effectiveness. The large side sliding doors ensure easy entry and exit for stretchers and medical personnel. The Trekker is the most recent of Leonardo's light twin-engine aircraft and the first with skids in the AW109 model series. It is the fastest in its class for rescue operations and the only one to have a cabin that allows the medical staff on board to be able to intervene on the patient's entire body. The AW109 Trekker is equipped with the latest generation Genesys Aerosystems avionics that can be configured, according to the needs of the customers, to operate with one or two pilots, according to visual flight rules (VFR) or instrumental (IFR). To date, more than 70 AW109 Trekkers have already been sold to customers around the world for multiple missions such as air ambulance and search and rescue, VIP and offshore transport, utilities and public order tasks. More than 1500 AW109s have been sold to date for a wide variety of uses.
SAF group
Mountain rescue and community protection is in the DNA of the SAF Group, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year. SAF has a fleet of 65 helicopters with services that cover the wide range of operations: helicopter rescue (also in the mountains), aerial work, VIP transport and tourist flights, as well as maintenance and training services. The group operates through SAF Hélicoptères and SAF International for the utility market and EMS, AZUR Hélicoptère in VIP transport on the French Riviera, the Alps and Paris, HELILAGON for the entire range of services on the island of La Réunion, SAF Industries with its four laboratories and, finally, SAF TRAINING ACADEMY and its 2 flight simulators. To date, SAF is the only operator in France carrying out night operations, equipped with NVG technology (Night Vision Goggles, light-intensifying visors positioned on the pilots' helmets).