Airbus Helicopters CEO: Growing Order Book

Bruno Even, Airbus Helicopters CEO and Romain Trapp, President and Head of North America Region for Airbus Helicopters, provided CAT with a wide-ranging overview of their portfolio as the company emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Even set the tone for his company’s presence at Heli Expo 2022 in Dallas, Texas, noting Airbus Helicopters had a 52% share of the global market at the end of 2021. From a relative low point in 2020, the CEO also reported that during 2021, the OEM had 419 orders signed with 167 customers in 45 nations, and delivered 338 helicopters.

The OEM further reported a significant amount of activity in its training and support business. Even told CAT the company is accommodating 7,000 trainees (pilots and maintainers) per year; the H-160 pilot and technicians training programs are well underway; distance learning continues to be a foundation of Airbus Helicopters learning; and Airbus continues to expand its collaboration with VRM Switzerland for H125 training and safety.

Trapp cited the Helisim Simulation Center, located inside the Airbus Helicopters facility in Grand Prairie (vicinity Dallas), Texas, which continues to expand with the launch of a new Thales Reality H FFS to support initial and recurrent H145 training in the Americas.

In the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) domain, CEO Even emphasized Airbus Helicopters is concurrently participating in R&D in the two envisioned energy sources for eVTOLs – hydrogen and electrification. In the case of hydrogen, the OEM is participating in projects to advance hydrogen tanks, hydrogen burn processes and fuel cells. Even asserted full electrification in selective parts of his portfolio will be evident by 2030, supporting short-range missions, low-weight payload flights and urban air mobility. These latter trends will have major, yet to be defined, implications for commercial aviation maintenance personnel, as they migrate from supporting legacy on-board propulsion and associated systems to next-generation technologies. Developments in the quickly emerging eVTOL industry will demand nothing less than change and innovation in the adjacent training and safety spaces.

CAT will soon publish a comprehensive view of emerging developments in the eVTOL market.

In addition, eVTOL will be a featured agenda topic for multiple discussions during the World Aviation Training Summit, 3-5 May 2022 in Orlando, Florida.