AHI announces 2 aeromed sales

PARIS - Airbus Helicopters announced Feb. 27 that the Shreveport, La.-based air medical transport provider Metro Aviation had placed an order for 25 EC145e helicopters. Airbus Helicopters Inc. (AHI) will produce the EC145e at its assembly plant in Columbus, Miss., where it also produces UH-72A Lakota for the U.S. Army, and the H125 commercial helicopter for the U.S. market. Metro will customize the helicopters for individual customers at its completion center in Louisiana. No financial details were disclosed. The deal was announced during the Heli-Expo 2018 expo in Las Vegas. (Source: Reuters 02/27/18) The EC145e is essentially a commercial version of the UH-72 built in Columbus. UPDATE: A second deal was also announced at the Las Vegas expo involving Boston MedFlight, a non-profit providing critical care air medical transport for Boston regional hospitals. Boston MedFlight ordered three Airbus H145 helicopters as part of a planned upgrade to its fleet of helos. The first two helicopters will be placed into service this spring with the third arriving in the fall.