Leonardo is relaunching its Agusta brand to market its VIP helicopter products.
The Agusta name, which dates back to the 1920s, will be used by Leonardo Helicopters to brand its VIP and corporate rotorcraft products, particularly around customer services, as well as aircraft interiors and bespoke configurations for VIP customers.
The company is hoping that the Agusta brand could be as synonymous with luxury and style as Italian car makers such as Ferrari, Maserati or Lamborghini, and follows Airbus’ 2017 decision to market its corporate rotorcraft under the name Airbus Corporate Helicopters.
“With Agusta, we give our VIP operators a strong brand that they can easily recognize and identify with,” says Gian Piero Cutillo, Leonardo Helicopters managing director. “The recognition of the Agusta brand legacy still continues to live on in this particular market segment.”
The Agusta name was joined up with that of Westland in 2000 when then-Finmeccanica purchased the UK-based helicopter manufacturer and merged their operation. The AgustaWestland name later disappeared in 2016 as Finmeccanica renamed itself Leonardo, although the AW prefix continues to be used in the naming of its products.
Leonardo launched the new brand on Oct. 2 in Dubai, where it has established a rotorcraft terminal at the site of the Dubai Expo in conjunction with Falcon Aviation Services, development of which was announced at the 2019 Dubai Airshow.
Opening of the facility, which has been named Casa Agusta, was accompanied by the Middle Eastern debut of the AW609 tiltrotor, which was ferried to the region for the event.
The company says the new branding will reinforce its position in the VIP corporate market as it develops advanced and sustainable air mobility systems.
