Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Airbus Helicopters initiates ’14 action plan

The grounding and crash of a pair of Airbus Helicopters last year are strengthening the resolve of the company to improve its safety measures, new CEO Guillaume Faury said at a company news conference Jan. 28. Those events have prompted the CEO to implement an action plan to recover sales and delivery numbers. Since he took the helm in May, helicopter deliveries increased (to 497) by 22 over 2012 numbers. But sales dropped over the same period; and one of the firm’s disappointments was its new 16-to-18 seat EC175 medium helicopter. The certification process for the EC175 has been completed and the aircraft should be certified in the coming days. Deliveries for its three main customers – NHV, UTAir and Heli-Union – are due to take place in the second or third quarter. Source: Aviation Week, Jan. 28, 2014.
[Central Mississippi/Golden Triangle note: Airbus Helicopters - formerly American Eurocopter - employs more than 900 individuals at its Columbus, Miss., and Texas facilities.]

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