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.
