Airbus Helicopters,Inc.

The helicopter industry leader

Airbus Helicopters is the world’s leading manufacturer of helicopters, offering the most comprehensive lineup of civilian and military helicopters in the world.

Part of Airbus Group, a global aerospace and defense leader, Airbus Helicopters employs approximately 23,000 people worldwide. Its fleet in service includes 12,000 helicopters operated by more than 3,000 customers across 150 countries. Worldwide, the company maintains a 45-percent market share in the civil and parapublic markets.

Airbus Helicopters Inc., the U.S. affiliate, opened in 1969 in Grand Prairie, Texas. It also operates a final assembly plant in Columbus, Miss. Airbus Helicopters products are the U.S. market leaders for air medical transport, law enforcement, airborne tourism, and in the corporate and VIP segment.

Innovation and safety are critical to Airbus Helicopters’ success, and 2016 brought several key milestones in the U.S. and North America.

Airbus Helicopters introduced the H135 to the U.S. market. The industry reference for light twin-engine helicopters, the H135 is praised for its powerful performance, safety features, operating efficiency and cabin flexibility. Globally, more than 1,200 helicopters of the H135 series — including its previous iteration the EC135 — are in operation and have accumulated more than three million flight hours.

The H130 is gaining traction among U.S. air medical transport operators, who tout the aircraft as an economical, high-performance helicopter that allows them to provide the highest quality care to critically ill and injured patients. Long a favorite of tourism operators, the H130 was designed with a large, comfortable cabin.

Demand grew for the H145, one of the newest and most technologically advanced models in the Airbus Helicopters product line. Dallas Cowboys Owner, President, and General Manager Jerry Jones, leader of one of the world’s most recognizable professional sports franchises, selected a new, customized H145 corporate helicopter as his preferred mode of transportation.

A military variant of the H145 family is the UH-72A Lakota. Airbus Helicopters Inc. has delivered a total of 387 aircraft to the U.S. Army on time, on budget and meeting rigorous Army quality requirements. A modern, twin-engine helicopter, the UH-72A Lakota is built in Columbus, Miss.

Working with Airbus Helicopters affiliates, Airbus Helicopters Inc. has taken a step forward in meeting the needs of customers globally. For instance, the Israel Police will be taking delivery of H125s produced to specific requirements by Airbus Helicopters Inc., along with H145s. H125s are assembled in Columbus, Miss. and completed in Grand Prairie. H130s customized to meet India’s air medical transport regulations and requirements were produced in 2016 for Aviators Air Rescue in Bangalore.

Airbus Helicopters and Airbus Helicopters Inc. have in recent years invested heavily in both material and human resources to strengthen customer support in North America and globally. Notably, Airbus Helicopter Inc.’s on-time delivery rate for spare parts is more than 96 percent, a sharp improvement. Surveys show significant improvement in customer support scores.

Airbus Helicopters Inc. stocks more than $117 million in spare parts inventories, with more than 60,000 individual parts numbers, at its U.S. logistics center at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Airbus Helicopters maintains logistics hubs at its headquarters in Marignane, and in Singapore. Airbus Helicopters’ spares ordering systems and technical support are linked via web and voice connections to provide customers throughout the world with support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

A wide-ranging effort is under way to greater synchronize the operations of Airbus Helicopters Inc. and Airbus Helicopters Canada Ltd. The collaboration has resulted in greater efficiency for North American customers and streamlined services.

As part of the regionalization, Airbus Helicopters Inc. assumed responsibility for performing all dynamic component repairs of medium-sized aircraft, including the H135 and H145, in Grand Prairie. Similar work on all light helicopters, such as the H120 and H125, now takes place at Airbus Helicopters Canada facilities.

based in ontario for more than 30 years, Airbus Helicopters Canada supports a fleet of nearly 700 helicopters across the country with its main manufacturing facility in Fort Erie and additional operations in Richmond, British Columbia, and Mirabel, Quebec.

The Fort Erie facility is a Centre of Excellence for composite components manufacturing within the Airbus Helicopters Group thanks to the expertise of its team and its competitiveness. It produces composite components for a variety of Airbus Helicopters’ leading models which are sold internationally in more than 100 markets. Today over 50 percent of the workforce in Fort Erie is working on products for export.

Utility operators are the largest market for Airbus Helicopters Canada, with significant market share in parapublic, air medical transport, and corporate operations.