Following CHC’s announcement of their new five (potentially) twenty year contract offshore Norway for Aker BP, we are now able to confirm that the operator has three new AW189s on order from Leonardo.

These will mark the first time a supermedium helicopter has been operated in Norway, and the type remains the only supermedium with full ice approval, a requirement in the Nordic climate.

The two competitor aircraft are not ready for the Norwegian market. The Airbus H175 is not yet full-ice certified – although the manufacturer has been actively working on that approval for the last two years.

Additionally, the Bell 525 is not yet ready for market anywhere in the world and is still not certified, despite the fact we are approaching the tenth anniversary of the type’s first flight on 1st July this year.

CHC has experience of the AW189 in the offshore role with two based at Karratha in Western Australia. Additionally they used to have one example in the Netherlands.

Norwegian oil company Equinor also has five AW189s on order, two for this year and three for next year.