OceanAir Táxi Aéreo has grown, is still growing and expects better things to come.

OceanAir was launched by Grupo Maritime oil’s controlling shareholder, German Efromovich, in 1998 to meet the needs of oil executives moving in and out of Brazil.

In 2003 OceanAir became the exclusive representative of Bombardier in Brazil and two years later was representing Swiss airplane manufacturer Pilatus. This year, the São Paulo-based company became the exclusive dealer for helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland.

OceanAir has also signed a contract to acquire six AgustaWestland AW139 medium twin-turbine helicopters, to be used for business transport and to expand the AW139 offshore role. Also part of the deal was an option for another 56 of the company’s helicopters.

OceanAir sales director Jóse Eduardo Brandão said demand for helicopters in offshore operations is likely to expand substantially in coming years. He added that OceanAir expects to conclude the sale of three helicopters for offshore use in the third quarter.

A year after becoming the Pilatus sales rep in Brazil, OceanAir has sold 12 new PC-12s. The company now claims a 30-percent share of the Brazilian turboprop market. He further noted that all the PC-12 sales were to individuals who had never owned an airplane.

Brandão was equally effusive on the subject of jet sales, which he said are on the rise this year. “We’ve had great [customer interest in] the Challenger 300 and we expect that sales will be stronger once the first aircraft is delivered to Brazil in September.”