Leonardo launches new VIP brand in Dubai

With a private event host last Saturday evening at the helicopter terminal built for Expo 2020, the Italy-headquartered aerospace and defence company Leonardo launched a new brand for its VIP transport segment. The company chose to reintroduce the brand Agusta – an historical Italian company of helicopters, which in the years become AgustaWestland and in 2016 merged in Leonardo together with other companies – and to apply this name to its VIP helicopters and luxury travelling services.

“We decided to make this announcement here in Dubai because Expo 2020 Dubai represents the vision of world’s excellence, and this year it sees the future of mobility as one of its main topics. Also, Leonardo has in the UAE extremely important partners, with almost 90 per cent of the Emirati fleet for institutional and VIP transport relying on our helicopters” explained Alessandro Profumo, Leonardo CEO.

The announcement took place at the grand opening of the new rotorcraft terminal by Leonardo and Falcon Aviation Services in Dubai, purposely designated Casa Agusta. The terminal is facilitating the mobility to and from the Expo 2020 Dubai. An AW609 TiltRotor – an aircraft able to take-off and land vertically like a helicopter while flying with the performance of an aeroplane – and its full scale VIP/corporate cabin mock-up were on static display close to Casa Agusta. This was also first appearance of the AW609 TiltRotor in the Middle East and its official presentation in Dubai, marking the global commercial launch of the revolutionary multirole aircraft as it gets closer to its civil certification.