A look at an HAI member up close and personal.

Meridian Helicopters of Broussard, Louisiana, is a diversified international aircraft brokerage, leasing, and refurbishment firm. For more than 30 years, the company has worked as an all-inclusive service provider, helping customers navigate helicopter sales, purchases, leases, and refurbishments.

Helicopter Sales and Brokerage Services
Meridian promotes a four-step formula to sell customers’ helicopters for the highest value in the shortest period.

The company first conducts a fair-market valuation using its proprietary model, which combines the most current Blue Book values released by HeliValues and an analysis of all component/engine TBO (time between overhauls) and airworthiness-limitations items. The secondary driver in Meridian’s valuation consists of total airframe time compared with the current market, avionics/equipment options, historical usage of the helicopter, and the aircraft’s cosmetic appearance.

Meridian’s second step is a comprehensive current market summary that looks at global market and commodity fluctuations, aircraft average resale prices and days on market, the entire global for-sale market at any given time by model category, fixed and variable aircraft operating costs, and more. The third step is a targeted aircraft marketing campaign through popular website postings, targeted email lists, and personal connections in the industry.

When a buyer expresses interest, Meridian jumps into its fourth step: managing every aspect of the aircraft sale through the close of escrow, including all transfer-of-ownership components, to ensure that requirements regarding title, airworthiness, export, compliance with international laws, and logistics are met for a successful sale. The company also provides helicopter pre-purchase inspections with detailed reports, to help buyers make educated decisions about their aircraft purchase.

Helicopter Refurbishment
Specializing in light Bell aircraft, Meridian performs extensive helicopter maintenance and refurbishment in-house, having completed 18 “like new” refurbishments to date. Each of the company’s maintenance professionals has more than 20 years of experience, for a combined 150 years’ worth of expertise. Whether your aircraft just needs some TLC or requires a complete change of mission, Meridian will tailor a solution for you.

Meridian Helicopters is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cadorath, a family-owned and -operated company that provides a diverse range of solutions and products in aviation, agriculture, natural resources, and industrial sectors to a global client base. The company maintains an office in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, in addition to its US offices in Louisiana and Orion, Illinois.

Author

  • Jen Boyer

    Jen Boyer is the principal of her own firm, Flying Penguin Communications. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and holds commercial, instrument, flight instructor, and instrument instructor ratings in helicopters and a private rating in airplanes. She has worked as a professional journalist and marketing communicator in the aviation industry since the early 1990s.

Share the Story
Jen Boyer

Jen Boyer

Jen Boyer is the principal of her own firm, Flying Penguin Communications. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and holds commercial, instrument, flight instructor, and instrument instructor ratings in helicopters and a private rating in airplanes. She has worked as a professional journalist and marketing communicator in the aviation industry since the early 1990s.

Leave a Reply