Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, welcomed Everett Aviation as its newest S-92A helicopter customer at a ceremony at the 2019 Helicopter Association International Heli-Expo in Atlanta. Everett signed a contract with Lobo Leasing Limited for a utility S-92A helicopter that will support oil and gas and utility operations.

The aircraft, which is on display at Sikorsky's booth this week at HAI Heli-Expo, will immediately depart the exhibition to conduct oil and gas and utility operations support for the energy sector in East Africa. It initially will be based at Everett's regionally-acclaimed headquarters facility in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Everett is the region's largest helicopter service provider, and the S-92A helicopter is the first Sikorsky aircraft in the company's fleet. The utility-configured aircraft features a rapid change interior capable of handling cargo, carrying passengers or providing medical evacuation support.

"What a great day – we get the privilege of welcoming a new customer and entering a new market for the S-92," said Sikorsky President Dan Schultz. "We are extremely excited to add East Africa to our market portfolio, and we thank Lobo Leasing and Everett Aviation for the trust they've placed in our aircraft. We look forward to serving our customers in Africa."

"We're delighted to be introducing the S-92A to the Everett fleet," said Simon Everett, CEO of Everett. "Many regions across sub-Saharan Africa are seeing a tremendous boom in infrastructure and civil engineering projects, and our new S-92A is ideally suited to supporting those missions.”

"This S-92A will be the largest civilian helicopter of its type in our region, and we're very excited about adding this unique capability to our fleet. We'd like to acknowledge and thank Lobo Leasing and Sikorsky for their foresight and support in working with us on this project," said Everett.

Lobo Leasing is a Dublin, Ireland-based helicopter leasing company serving the global helicopter industry. The firm has offices in Dublin, London, Rio de Janeiro and San Francisco.

"All of us at Lobo Leasing are very pleased to be partnering with Everett Aviation and Sikorsky in introducing the S-92A into the East-African market," said Lobo CEO Bill Wolf. "Together with Sikorsky, we have been working to develop opportunities for the S-92 in the on-shore utility market. We are excited to place one of our unique utility S-92As with such an experienced and respected operator as Everett, who will benefit from the unique capabilities of this superb helicopter in the African utility market."