H140 launch customers line up!
Global Medical Response (GMR) has signed an agreement for ten H140s, with options for five additional helicopters for use in the emergency medical services (EMS) sector.
Headquartered in Lewisville, Texas,…
March 11, 2025
Global Medical Response (GMR) has signed an agreement for ten H140s, with options for five additional helicopters for use in the emergency medical services (EMS) sector.
Headquartered in Lewisville, Texas, GMR is one of the largest operators of Airbus helicopters in North America, and will eventually operate a fleet of nearly 200 Airbus helicopters from 380 air base locations. The company operates under a range of brands including Air Evac Lifeteam, REACH Air Medical Services, Med-Trans Corporation, AirMed International and Guardian Flight.
GMR has added more than 30 Airbus to its fleet since 2021, and ordered 28 more in November 2024.
Ted Van Horne, the Chief Operating Officer of GMR said that: “We are proud to offer this new helicopter design to our patients, caregivers and customers. Serving as the EMS launch partner for the Airbus H140 is just one more example of how GMR is investing in the future of care and continually innovating for the good of the communities we serve. In the hands of our experienced crews, the H140 will provide a better patient environment where they will continue to deliver critical acute care to patients who need it.”
Bruno Even, the CEO of Airbus Helicopters noted that: “This announcement builds on decades of collaboration between our two companies, and we are excited to be introducing the H140 in the U.S. in partnership with such a renowned air medical operator. We are confident the H140 will be an invaluable tool for the GMR team as they provide the highest levels of care for patients each day.”
Further H140 launch customers announced at Verticon include the German and Austrian helicopter emergency medical services operators ADAC Luftrettung, and ÖAMTC Flugrettung.
ADAC Luftrettung is one of Europe’s biggest HEMS operators and uses 60 Airbus helicopters from 38 stations. In 2024, ADAC flew around 50,000 (frequently life-saving) missions.
Frédéric Bruder, the CEO of ADAC Luftrettung said that: “ADAC Luftrettung played a key role in the development of the EC135 as early as the 1990s and has been instrumental over the past 30 years in establishing this helicopter as the backbone of modern air rescue in Germany and Europe. With around 780,000 ADAC air rescue missions and hundreds of thousands of patients transported, the H135 family is the heart of our fleet. This is why it has been essential for us to closely support Airbus in the development of the new H140 helicopter in the last few years — bringing our expertise from more than 1.3 million HEMS missions and with the clear goal of making the H140 the best HEMS helicopter for our missions.”
ÖAMTC Flugrettung operates 32 H135 helicopters from 18 permanent bases and 4 additional winter bases in Austria. Last year, the operator flew more than 22,000 missions, with an average of 61 missions per day.
Marco Trefanitz, the CEO of ÖAMTC Flugrettung said that: “We were very honoured when Airbus invited us together with our partners from ADAC to contribute and to be part of the development of the H140. This interesting journey allowed us to incorporate our valuable operational expertise from daily air rescue missions, alongside the extensive technical experience of our colleagues at Helikopter Air Transport GmbH. By integrating these insights, we are helping to further enhance efficiency, safety, and cost-effectiveness in high-level air rescue operations with this new helicopter.”
Between them, the two operators have signed an agreement with Airbus Helicopters for the purchase of ten H140 helicopters, with each operator due to receive five H140s. Germany’s ADAC Luftrettung, will also receive three H135 helicopters and one H145.
Bruno Even observed that: “It is no surprise that leading operators such as ADAC Luftrettung and ÖAMTC Flugrettung, who are two of our most long-standing partners in Europe, should be amongst the launch customers of the H140. They have always innovated and invested to deliver the highest quality of care to their patients. I am very grateful to both organisations for sharing their operational expertise and contributing to our H140. I would like to thank them for the trust they put in Airbus and our new helicopter. We look forward to seeing the H140 perform life-saving missions in Austria, Germany and Europe.”
