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Houston-based Bristow Group is the largest operator of the Leonardo AW139.
Developed in the 1990s by a collaboration of Italy’s Agusta and U.S. manufacturer Bell, the Leonardo AW139 twin-engine medium helicopter remains much in demand as a multirole platform.
Under a joint venture with the Algerian National Defense Ministry, Leonardo in the next two years expects to start assembling AW139s at a third manufacturing site—Ain Arnat Airport in Algeria—having received a first order for seven helicopters, Aviation Week’s Tony Osborne reported in March.
Creation of the assembly line in Ain Arnat follows the 2016 signing of an agreement between Leonardo and the government in Algiers to help “revitalize national industry.” The facility's establishment builds on orders placed by the North African country during the 2000s when Algiers re-equipped much of its naval air arm and civil protection services with Leonardo-built helicopters.
Offshore energy and search-and-rescue (SAR) helicopter operator Bristow Group and Leonardo finalized a long-term support agreement for Bristow’s AW139 and super medium twin AW189 helicopters last November. The agreement includes installing a new AW139 full flight simulator in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 2026.
Houston-based Bristow lays claim to being the world’s largest operator of the AW139 and AW189. As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the group reported operating 192 total helicopters, including 52 AW139s seating up to 12 passengers and 23 AW189s seating 16 passengers. The average age of the 48 AW139s that it owns was 14 years.
The Leonardo AW139/189 and Sikorsky’s S92 “remain the most in-demand models for both offshore crew transportation and SAR missions,” Bristow says.
Originally developed as the AB139 by a joint venture of Agusta and Bell, the AW139 was certified in Italy in June 2003 and by the FAA in 2004. AgustaWestland, the merged company of Agusta and Britain’s Westland Helicopters, built a “short nose” variant characterized by a compact nose cone from 2004-08. This was followed in 2007 by the current long-nose variant, which has an extended nose cone to house additional avionics and radar systems.
AgustaWestland announced the development of the larger, 8-ton-class AW189 at the Paris Air Show in June 2011. Parent company Finmeccanica later rebranded itself as Leonardo in 2016-17.
AW139 Metrics
Leonardo builds AW139s at a facility in Vergiate, Italy, near Milan, and in Philadelphia. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6C-67C turboshafts, each producing 1,679 shp, with Fadec engine control, the baseline AW139 tips the scale at 14,110 lb. max takeoff weight. An increased gross weight kit raises MTOW to 15,000 lb.-plus, achieved by reinforcing its tailboom and modifications to its landing gear.
AW139s are fitted with the Honeywell Primus Epic avionics system with four-axis digital autopilot. They can be configured for emergency medical/SAR, law enforcement, and offshore energy operations. A VIP/executive transport version seats one or two crew and up to 10 passengers. Leonardo reports around 300 corporate and VIP-configured AW139s currently in service worldwide.
Max cruise speed at 5,000 ft., max gross weight and standard ISA conditions is 165 ktas, with max range of 641 nm, according to Leonardo.
There are currently 1,173 AW139s in operation worldwide out of the 1,284 helicopters produced to date, according to helicopter appraisal firm HeliValues. There were 16 short- and long-nose variants listed for sale in March, with about a dozen being offered off-market.
The International Aircraft Dealers Association in March listed two AW139s for sale: a 2006 model with VIP six-passenger interior and 1,621 hr., located in Buenos Aires; and a 2014 model with 7-passenger interior and 2,965 hr., priced at $6.9 million.
The base price of a short-nose AW139 in 2004 was $9.5 million; it was listed at $10.5 million in 2008, according to HeliValues’ Official Helicopter Bluebook. The resale value of a 2008 model with 50% weighted average component life—the average remaining life of critical components—was $4.1 million.
The base price of a long-nose variant in 2007 was $10.5 million; the list price in 2024 was $14.3 million. The resale value of a 2014 model with 50% weighted average component life was $5 million.
“What they are selling for is a very open-ended question as there are many factors that play into the resale values of these, such as age, flight hours, power-by-hour programs, configurations, geographic locations, Epic phase software level, MTOW, and whether it is a short nose variant or long nose variant,” advises HeliValues President Jason Kmiecik.
BCA welcomes comment and insight from aircraft dealers and brokers for its monthly 20/Twenty pre-owned aircraft market feature. The focus aircraft for April 2025 is the Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, for May the Dassault Falcon 7X. To participate, contact bill.carey@aviationweek.com.
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