Airbus Helicopter–a division of Airbus Group–closed 2013 with 497 deliveries, an increase from the prior year, according to its president.
Airbus Helicopters President Guillaume Faury said the company, which recently rebranded from 20 years as Eurocopter, is anticipating the first deliveries of its new medium utility EC175.
“We enter 2014 with a transformation plan that is being applied across the company and responds to customers’ evolving expectations,” he said in Paris in late January.
The EC175 completed certification on Jan. 27. The company has already received 48 orders for the twin-engine aircraft, which is designed for civilian purposes such as medical emergency response and VIP transport. It has 15 of the aircraft on the final assembly line, expecting to deliver the first units to European clients. These customers include helicopter business airlines NHV in Belgium, Heli Union in France and UTair Aviation in Russia.
The EC175 will also be the first of the company’s helicopters to feature its Helionix Avionics suite, which reduces pilots’ workload through automation. It also features cameras that allow the pilot to observe other parts of the aircraft, including passengers boarding.
Airbus Helicopters expects certification for its upgraded light utility EC145 T2 in 2014 as well as increased production rates for the military NH90, Tiger and EC725.
Recounting 2013, Faury said the company delivered nearly one out of two civil helicopters worldwide. Civil activities accounted for 55 percent of the company’s turnover with military activities representing the remaining 45 percent. The company said 72 percent of delivers went to customers beyond its home countries of France, Germany and Spain.
The order intake for 2013 included:
- EC120/Ecureuil/Fennec/EC130 family: 211
- EC135: 61
- EC145: 61
- Super Puma/Cougar EC225/EC725 family: 33
- Dauphin/Panther/ EC155 family: 17
- EC175: 5
- NH90: 34