Airlift

What Airlift does

Airlift AS is a privately held Norwegian helicopter services company, founded in 1986 and headquartered at Førde Airport Bringeland. Operating a fleet of 24 helicopters across 11 Norwegian bases with 115 employees, the company is the largest provider of inland helicopter services in Northern Europe. Its core offerings span offshore crew transportation and maritime pilotage (including the Norwegian Coastal Administration contract), inland services such as power-line construction, heavy lifting (operating Northern Europe's only 4+ ton capacity heavy-lift AS 332 C Super Puma), and passenger and materials transport, plus EASA Part-145 maintenance, Part-21 design and modification, ATO pilot training, and an emerging drone services line.

The company's underlying technology combines a diverse multi-OEM fleet (Airbus AS 350 B3 Ecureuil, AS 332 C Super Puma, Leonardo AW169, Bell 205) with proprietary inspection systems including thermographic IR on gyrostabilised WesCam mounts and Day Cor ll bispectral corona detection cameras co-developed with OFIL (Israel) and EPRI (USA). Operational scale includes 100,000+ cumulative flight hours and approximately 10,000 annual flight hours, 40,000 landings, and 38,000 sling/hoist operations. Airlift's Design Organisation holds multiple Supplemental Type Certificates and was the first Norwegian organisation to receive AW169 technical approvals.

Airlift has operated as a subsidiary of NHV Group since the December 2014 acquisition of Blueway by NHV (backed by PE sponsor Ardian). Revenue is generated primarily through direct B2B contracts and public procurement: long-term government framework agreements (Norwegian Coastal Administration 6-year deal worth ~NOK 100M annually; Norwegian Polar Institute 3-year Arctic contract), enterprise infrastructure contracts (Statnett Western Corridor II via Valard Norway, a Quanta Service Group subsidiary), air-ambulance conversion work for Saab and Scandinavian MediCopter, and third-party technical services including Part-145 maintenance and STC development for AW169 operators across Scandinavia. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; contracts are negotiated directly or awarded via competitive public tender.

Name

Airlift

Legal name

Airlift AS

Website

https://en.airlift.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Airlift AS is Norway's largest inland helicopter services provider and a Northern European leader, operating a 24-helicopter fleet across 11 bases to serve offshore, power-grid, construction, polar-research, and air-ambulance customers via direct and government-procurement contracts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bygstad (Førde Airport Bringeland)

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Offshore Helicopter Services: Crew transportation to larger vessels, maritime pilotage services, and offshore operations including flare stack switching. Revenue generated through long-term government contracts and commercial agreements with offshore operators.
2. Inland Helicopter Services: Line building, mast assembly, film and photo, heavy lifting, passenger transport, concrete and material transport, transmission line inspection. Project-based and contract work for utility, construction, and telecom companies.
3. Technical Services and Design (EASA Part-21): Helicopter maintenance (Part-145), design and modification services, STC development for third-party operators. Technical expertise serving both own fleet and external helicopter operators in Norway and Scandinavia.
4. Drone Services: Emerging service segment applying new and environmentally friendly drone technology for customer needs. In development stage.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Airlift AS provides on-shore helicopter services across Norway, operating a fleet of 24 helicopters for offshore crew transport and pilotage (including the Norwegian Coastal Administration contract), inland operations such as power line construction, heavy lifting, passenger and material transport, film/photo work, and polar services. It also sells EASA Part-145 maintenance, EASA Part-21 design and modification (STC development), an Approved Training Organisation for pilots, and an emerging drone services line.

Product overview

Airlift AS is Norway's largest provider of inland helicopter services and a leading North European helicopter services company. The company operates a fleet of 24 helicopters and provides a comprehensive portfolio of services spanning offshore crew transportation (including pilotage services for the Norwegian Coastal Administration), inland services (power line construction, heavy lifting, passenger transport, materials transport), technical services (Part-145 maintenance, Part-21 design/modifications), drone services, and pilot training (ATO). The fleet includes Airbus AS 350 B3 Ecureuil, AS 332 C Super Puma, Leonardo AW169, and Bell 205 helicopters. The company also operates Northern Europe's only heavy lift helicopter with lifting capacity of over four tons.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Offshore Helicopter Services Helicopter services for the offshore industry including crew transportation to larger vessels along the Norwegian coast, maritime pilotage services for the Norwegian Coastal Administration, switching of flare stacks on offshore installations, and crew change for oil and gas terminals. For enterprise and government customers including Kystverket, Vertech Offshore, and offshore operators on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
• Inland Helicopter Services Helicopter services spanning line building and mast assembly, film and photography assignments, polar / Arctic operations, heavy lifting up to 4 tonnes, passenger transport, concrete and material transport, and transmission line inspection (visual, thermographic, corona). Delivered to utility, construction, telecom, and media customers across Norway.
• Technical Maintenance Services (EASA Part-145) EASA Part-145 approved maintenance organisation offering the full range of helicopter maintenance, from smaller to larger inspections on various helicopter types. Serves Airlift's own fleet as well as external helicopter operators in Norway and Scandinavia.
• Helicopter Design and Modification Services (EASA Part-21) EASA Part-21 approved design organisation delivering helicopter modifications, STC development, and certification services. Sold to third-party helicopter operators and integrators (e.g., Saab for Scandinavian MediCopter air ambulance conversion; Leonardo AW169 technical services for third-party AW169 operators).
• Drone Services Drone-based services applying new, environmentally friendly unmanned technology to customer use cases, leveraging Airlift's long experience with helicopter services. In development / market introduction stage.
• Pilot Training Services (Approved Training Organisation) EASA-approved training organisation providing pilot training from Task Specialist level through various type ratings on AS350, AS332, AW169, and EC225 helicopters, used to train Airlift's own pilots and offered to external customers in the aviation market.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 100,000 flight hours accumulated with 31 pilots, averaging 3,225 hours per pilot
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.

• NHV GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 December 2014Airlift is a subsidiary of NHV Group following the acquisition of Blueway (which owned Airlift). NHV Group is based in Ostend, Belgium, and is one of the largest European helicopter operators with approximately 650 employees and combined turnover of US$270 million. The group operates 62+ helicopters across multiple countries including presence in North Sea, West Africa, and provides oil & gas, HEMS, and maritime services.
• Vertech Offshore AScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVertech Offshore is described as Airlift's 'sister company' and collaborates on offshore flare stack switching operations. Vertech Offshore is the market leader globally in flare tip replacement by helicopter. This partnership has operated for over 20 years without accidents or damages.
• SaabstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerAirlift's Design Organization (DOA) was awarded a contract from Swedish defence and security company Saab for conversion of a helicopter (Eurocopter AS365 N3) to air ambulance configuration for Scandinavian MediCopter. Saab's aircraft maintenance facility handles production and installation while Airlift manages design and certification.
• OFIL (Israel) and EPRI (USA)strategicTechnology or IntegrationAirlift co-developed the Day Cor ll bispectral corona inspection camera with Israeli company OFIL and US Electrical Power Research Institute (EPRI). This proprietary technology enables effective detection of corona interference in high-voltage transmission lines and transformers.
• Valard NorwaystrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerValard Norway (part of Quanta Service Group, North America's largest energy business) selected Airlift as helicopter partner for Statnett's Western Corridor II project. This is the first major project between the two companies, involving power line construction through 2021.
• Leonardo HelicoptersstrategicTechnology or IntegrationAirlift was the first Norwegian organization to receive AW169 technical approvals from Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority and operates the AW169 helicopters. They received delivery of three new AW169 helicopters and provide technical services for third-party AW169 operators in Norway and Scandinavia.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/107075072666452
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/airlift-a-s

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Airlift