Airbus Helicopters Gears Up For EC175 Entry Into Service | Aviation International News

Airbus Helicopters Gears Up For EC175 Entry Into Service

“Maturity” trials have taken place at a customer base. A raft of improvements are already planned for 2016.

Airbus Helicopters’ planned production rate is now more than 30 EC175s a year.

By Thierry Dubois • Writer

July 14, 2014

Certification in hand, Airbus Helicopters is endeavoring to ensure a faultless entry into service of its EC175 medium twin, a critical product for the company in the highly competitive offshore oil-and-gas market. The first delivery, to Belgium-based operator NHV, is planned for the second half of this year, almost five years after the first flight. Thanks to the unprecedented preparation at the company’s headquarters in Marignane, France, and at a customer base, program officials believe an EC175 will be able to operate immediately after delivery.

“We want the delivered aircraft to be as close as possible to perfection–our oil-and-gas customers have high expectations for reliability and support,” EC175 program director Laurent Vautherin told AIN. Airbus is under even greater pressure than usual, as a series of incidents and accidents has put its helicopters in a not-so-desirable spotlight, especially in the UK, since 2012.

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