UK-based onshore helicopter operator Heli Air has opened a new base at Manchester's City airport and heliport, also known as Barton. This follows the acquisition of Heli NorthWest and will add to the operator's UK-wide network of bases, bringing the total to nine.

Heli Air Manchester, as it will be known, will have its own fleet of R22, R44, R66 and Bell 206 helicopters and will be offering services including charter flights and helicopter pilot training. As necessary, the base will be able to call on the company's combined fleet of over 50 machines to support its training and charter activities.

The new base manager is Alex Brown, an experienced PPL pilot, who will be supported by two full-time staff pilots/instructors qualified to train for PPL, CPL and type ratings. Brian Kane, Heli Air's head of sales and marketing, says: “We were delighted to have the opportunity to purchase Heli NorthWest as the opening of Heli Air Manchester represents a major step forward in our plans to establish a truly national network of bases.

“The majority of the work at Manchester will commence with training. Heli Air has been trading since the mid-80s. We had a growth plan which started five years ago to operate nationally, because the company has been in business for so long. We have clients across the whole of the country; our expansion got under way in 2010 when we created Silverstone heliport. That was closely followed by Thruxton and then Fairoaks airport in 2011. In 2012 we opened Heli Air Gloucester at Gloucestershire airport, and in 2013 we now have Manchester. There will be further expansion plans but we will announce those in a short while. We were already trading at Wellesbourne, near Stratford-upon-Avon; Wycombe, near High Wycombe; and Denham, west of London.

“Geographically, the new base is centrally placed. Our operations consist largely of pipeline patrol: we run Northern Gas and Southern Gas pipeline patrols every week of the year. Our patrols are landing at a huge number of airports up and down the country. Manchester is a regular stop-off for overnight stays and fuel.”

Kane continues by saying that fleet additions are expected: “We are looking to increase the fleet size. The planned fleet at Manchester will include Robinsons along with the Bell 206 JetRanger. In addition, we have Eurocopter EC120s and EC130s – both singles – and a Eurocopter AS355 Twin Squirrel. We can reposition any of these to any of our bases in less than an hour.

“We already have a lot of clients in the territory of north Wales and the Chester region. We wanted to take the business to the clients rather than make the clients come to us, so we now have this spine, if you like, from the south right through to the north servicing them properly.”

Kane explains the spread of work: “The pipeline patrol work, which also includes gas and fuel patrol for another company, is very widespread. The only parts of the country we don't cover are Wales and west England – that's not a contract that we have. There is no doubt that we will look at it at some stage but really and truly it'll be a benefit to have Manchester there as our base because our pilots will be landing at our own facility, but it won't change the profile of the work we do.

“The acquisition of Heli NorthWest was pretty fundamental in the deal. We know the previous owner of Heli NorthWest, we in fact trained Gary Cooper to get his FAA license a year or so back. We've known Gary ten years or more and he decided to move into offshore flying, at which point we entered into dialogue with him to take over the business,” Kane adds.

He is upbeat as to future growth potential: “We're very confident about the potential of Manchester. Unlike a lot of our contemporaries out there, we have been investing and re-investing in the infrastructure of Heli Air, non-stop, for the last five to six years. We don't plan for that to stop but maybe slow down for a while. We are alert to opportunities.”

Clients are expected to benefit from the expansion: “Heli Air can now look after its clients better. At Wellesbourne we service aircraft from Liverpool, Manchester and north Wales. Clients fly to us. It won't happen immediately but we will put servicing into Manchester as well, which will make life a lot easier for existing clients and new ones.”

Kane believes newly-appointed base manager Alex Brown is the right man for the job: “Alex has moved to the city so he can do a proper full-time job. He's a good PPL with a lot of enthusiasm and is a frequent flyer. He is also a business management degree student, so he's not just the guy in the corner with a pen. He knows and understands the business and he knows how to fly. He can lead the business in Manchester in the way we want it done – properly.”

In addition, Heli Air has now opened its first base in Scotland, following the recent acquisition of Scotia Helicopters. The operation will be based at Cumbernauld airport, midway between Glasgow and Edinburgh. The introduction of a Bell 206 is expected very soon, along with a number of Robinson helicopters. Flight and maintenance operations will be moving to a dedicated hangar at the airport with adjacent office space.

Captain Lloyd Whyman, formerly of Scotia Helicopters, has been appointed base manager and will continue to act as the site's main instructor/examiner. Heli Air Scotland managing director Charles McCann comments: “Having our base at Cumbernauld gives us a foothold close to the central Scotland motorway network and puts us in an excellent position to cater to the growing vip charter market. With the Ryder Cup and the Commonwealth Games coming up next year, we see great potential.”