Lease Corporation International (LCI) has placed three new Leonardo AW139s configured for EMS operations with Shanghai Kingwing Aviation (Kingwing). The lease is LCI’s first in China. The aircraft will be delivered to Kingwing in the second half of 2018. The majority of LCI’s leases are in the EMS market and helicopter EMS is expanded rapidly in China as airspace restrictions are being eased there. Kingwing is the country’s largest helicopter EMS provider and its third largest helicopter operator overall.

LCI has established a new company based in the Tianjin Free Trade Zone DFTP Area to help it meet the growing demand in China and build its leasing business there. “China is a market with enormous growth potential in civil helicopter operations, and we are honored to partner with Kingwing in the development of its innovative and entrepreneurial approach to the provision of EMS services in China,” said LCI CEO Michael Platt.

LCI’s current $750 million fleet includes delivered and ordered helicopters from Airbus, Leonardo, and Sikorsky.