Airbus H145 chosen to replace STARS air ambulance fleet

STARS, the air ambulance service, has found new helicopters to replace its aging fleet and now it just needs to find a way to pay for them.

The first two Airbus H145 helicopters will arrive in Calgary in late spring 2019, the organization announced Thursday. They come with a price tag of about $13 million each.

The plan is to replace the entire fleet of nine helicopters by 2022 at a total cost of about $117 million, said STARS president and CEO Andrea Robertson.

• STARS gearing up to replace aging chopper fleet in Alberta

"It's entirely funding dependent," she said on the timeline.

"Our commitment across Western Canada is to be here 24/7, 365, and we can't raise that kind of money overnight."

STARS is taking a "three-pronged approach" to raising the money, said Robertson.

"One is we're working with our government partners in all the jurisdictions to see if we can secure some capital support," she said.

"The second is the sale of the current fleet, at the end, will end up paying for a few helicopters, but of course we can't sell our current fleet until the new one is here but we can borrow money against the current fleet. Then, finally, we will be, and have been starting, to launch a capital campaign to start raising money."

When the changeover is complete, five new machines will operate out of Alberta, three in Saskatchewan and one in Manitoba.

In Western Canada, STARS operates a fleet of eight Airbus BK117s and three AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters, which are specially outfitted for emergencies.

And finding parts for those is becoming increasingly difficult, said Robertson.

"They have served us well for over 33 years, and they are great little workhorses. The issue with our BKs is they are considered a legacy aircraft by Airbus," she said.

"We had an aircraft waiting for a part, about two years ago, for six months. [Not being able] to fly a helicopter for six months is a problem."

Founded in 1985, the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service (STARS) flies about 3,000 mission a year across Western Canada, providing rapid emergency care to critically injured patients.

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