AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is pleased to announce that Gulf Helicopters of Qatar has signed a preliminary sale contract for fifteen AW189 helicopters. These aircraft will be used to perform offshore transport missions. Bruno Spagnolini, Chief Executive Officer, AgustaWestland, said “It gives us great pleasure to add Gulf Helicopters to the list of customers who have now chosen the AW189 to meet their future long range operational requirements only a few months after its official launch in June 2011 and its first flight in December 2011. We are delighted with the initial market response to the AW189 which enables us to offer a complete range of state-of-the-art helicopters for the commercial market. Gulf Helicopters is a major operator of the AW139 and we are confident that the AW189 will deliver the same high levels of mission capability, performance, safety and cost effectiveness.” The AW189 was launched in response to the growing market demand for a versatile, affordable, multirole helicopter in the 8-tonne class and has rapidly found success for long range missions, especially in the offshore oil and gas market. Entering service in early 2014, the twin engine AW189 helicopter is optimised for the long range offshore transport and SAR missions. The spacious cabin is configured with 16 seats as standard with the option for a high density 18 seat layout or a long range 12 seat configuration.