AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is pleased to announce that the AW139 will enter service with ATLAS Air Taxi, an offshore operator in Brazil, who are leasing two helicopters that are planned to be delivered in March 2014. The helicopters will provide passenger transport to offshore oil and gas installations off the Brazilian coast. Approximately 30 AW139 helicopters are now operated by offshore operators in Brazil.

The move to operate the AW139 was prompted by the need to upgrade the offshore fleet in terms of passenger comfort, speed, payload and, above all, the range in order to meet the expanding requirements in the offshore pre-salt Santos basin, 300 kilometres (190 mi) south east of São Paulo.

State-of-the-art technology, outstanding performance, low operating costs and the only helicopter in its class to meet the latest safety standards, have made the AW139 the helicopter of choice in the intermediate twin market. With its power reserve, the AW139 delivers Category A (Class 1) performance from a helipad (elevated or at ground level) at maximum take-off weight with an unmatched one engine inoperative capability.

The standard offshore passenger configurations provide seating for 12 or 15 passengers in a large and bright 8.0 m3 cabin with excellent ease of access and egress via large sliding cabin doors. Excellent payload and performance ensure unmatched productivity for offshore operations.

More than 200 customers from 60 countries have ordered over 750 helicopters to perform a wide range of roles including offshore transport, EMS/SAR, VIP/corporate transport, law enforcement, utility and government missions.

ATLAS began operations in 1998 serving oil and gas companies and currently operates ten twin engine IFR helicopters, seven medium size helicopters in the Southeast offshore basins (Campos, Santos and Espírito Santo) and three heavy helicopters onshore in the Amazon basin.