The new seven-ton class helicopter has now arrived in Mexico, where it has joined the fleet of Transportes Aéreos Pegaso, a company specialized in air transport services for the energy industry in the Gulf of Mexico.
This makes Transportes Aéreos Pegaso the first company to operate this new helicopter on the American continent. A second H175 will be delivered in 2017.
The new aircraft will not only be providing transport services for the oil industry but also supporting seismic exploration activities in the Mexican waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
“We have many years of experience with Airbus Helicopters and we are very proud to be among the first to operate this new helicopter, which has become the industry’s benchmark medium-sized twin-engine rotorcraft,” said Pegaso CEO Enrique Zepeda Navarro.
“We are proud to offer our customers a safe, comfortable and quiet helicopter that is also highly cost-effective and easy to maintain.”
Transportes Aéreos Pegaso has a fleet of more than 30 Airbus Helicopters rotorcraft, mainly H145s and H135s but also H130s and H155s. A few months ago Pegaso signed a framework agreement for 10 H145s and will be among the first Latin American customers to operate this most advanced light twin.
“This delivery reaffirms the relationship of trust that Airbus Helicopters and Transportes Aéreos Pegaso have built up over more than three decades,” said Francisco Navarro, general manager of Airbus Helicopters in México. “Our customers are a vital part of what we do at Airbus Helicopters; this is why the delivery we are now celebrating comes with our commitment to provide Transportes Aéreos Pegaso with a service that meets all the quality and safety standards that characterize our company.”
The H175 destined for Transportes Aéreos Pegaso is equipped with the most advanced version of the Helionix avionics suite – which includes a four-axis autopilot designed to ease crew workload while offering high safety levels.
New avionics features include the auto-hover function and LPV function (localizer performance with vertical guidance) to provide pilots with state-of-the-art piloting and navigation aids.
Since its entry into service in December 2014, the H175 has been flying in support of the oil and gas industry in the North Sea — one of the world’s harshest operational environments — and in Western Africa.