Airbus Helicopters is expanding its presence in the North American emergency medical services (EMS) market with the sale of six helicopters for two customers at the 2018 Air Medical Transport Conference, which took place in Phoenix, AZ from 22^nd -24^th October.

REACH Air Medical Services is adding three H125s and two H130s to its current fleet. The new aircraft slated for delivery later this year, will allow REACH to expand its service area while modernizing its fleet.

Headquartered in Sacramento, Calif., REACH is a subsidiary of Global Medical Response (GMR), which provides critical care air transport service to communities throughout California, Oregon, Nevada, Montana, Texas, and Colorado.

Also at the show, Airbus welcomed a new customer – Medical Air Rescue Company (MARC) – which signed for its first Airbus helicopter, the H130. The acquisition is part of the company’s long-term plan to modernize its fleet and expand its operations into the challenging mountainous regions in Wyoming, where the aircraft will be based.

Scheduled for delivery in December, the new aircraft will help the organization serve roughly 2,400 patients a year across South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska and Texas.

These orders follow two milestones for the twin-engine H145 in North America’s EMS market. In March 2018, Boston MedFlight took delivery of its first of three H145s, becoming the first air medical company in the United States to operate an H145 in EMS configuration.

And in 2019, the H145 will begin EMS flights in Canada for the first time with Alberta-based STARS air ambulance, following its selection as the preferred aircraft type for their fleet renewal.

Airbus Helicopters remains the leading provider of emergency medical helicopters for North American operators. In the past decade alone, nearly two-thirds of all new EMS helicopters sold in the United States were produced by Airbus Helicopters.