This year will mark a year of steady deliveries and brisker orders, Airbus Helicopters CEO Guillaume Faury predicted in late January. In addition, the company is making progress on development of its X4 and EC225e and is adding new standard safety equipment.

The offshore oil-and-gas market accounts for some 15 percent of Airbus Helicopters’ activity, and Faury appeared confident the oil price collapse might hold some opportunities for the company, particularly for heavy models. Major exploration projects have been revised or halted, but the level of oil production remains high. The trend toward cost reduction might spur interest in newer-generation helicopters, which are less expensive to operate than older ones. “The most profitable [offshore] fields are not necessarily the ones closest to shore,” Faury added.

Civil Market Under Pressure

The company expects a replacement wave for light helicopters to occur around 2017. Broadly speaking, the civil market will remain under pressure and uncertainty, he continued. Nevertheless, and helped partly by military sales, Faury expects the book-to-bill ratio to be greater than one, unlike last year.

He foresees stability in deliveries, notably with 45 to 48 civil and military Super Pumas. Dauphin series and EC175 production will ramp up.

The manufacturer saw a slight decline in orders and deliveries last year, compared with 2013. The Marignane, France-based company handed over 471 aircraft last year and booked orders for 402, a drop of 5 percent in each case. Faury claimed Airbus delivered 44 percent of the 736 civil and parapublic helicopters (weighing more than 2,860 pounds, thus excluding the Robinson R66) that were handed over worldwide last year.

Since the 2008 peak, the production mix (civil and military combined) has changed drastically at both ends of the spectrum, with light singles down (to 223) and heavy twins up (to 101). The latter number includes 35 civil AS332s and EC225s.

The company has seen a decline in orders for light helicopters, from the EC120 to the EC135. Strong performers include the EC145 (civil and military contracts for 115) and the Super Puma series (32). A notable exception in the medium and heavy categories has been the EC175, eight of which were ordered last year. “This was below my expectations,” Faury said.

China is still far from fulfilling its promise but ranked second in civil deliveries (29) behind the U.S. One of them, an EC135P2e, was the first dedicated EMS helicopter in the country. Airbus is supporting Avicopter in its effort to fly the first AC352, the counterpart of the EC175, this year.

Meanwhile, Airbus Helicopters has felt the pain of the economic situation in Russia. UTAir suspended shipments of the 14 EC175s it still has on order after receipt of the first one. A source familiar with UTAir told AIN the operator’s plans for offering offshore transportation services have been hit hard by the weak ruble and the oil price collapse.

Program Updates

The first prototype of the X4 medium twin reached the “power on” phase in late November. “Power on” means all systems, except the engines, were activated. A full-scale mockup will be unveiled at this month’s Heli-Expo.

The retrofit of all EC225 heavy twins with the redesigned shaft in the main gearbox will be completed this year. Certification of the upgraded EC225e is also planned for this year.

Airbus Helicopters is proceeding with equipping all its models with the Appareo Vision 1000 Alerts flight data monitoring device, an onboard, lightweight camera with accompanying sensors to allow flight replay and procedure deviation detection. In addition, all medium and heavy models will be fitted with cockpit voice and flight data recorders. The work is slated for completion by late this year.

Research and development spending is expected to remain stable, according to Faury. “Now paying off are the investments we made starting in 2007; these technologies are boarding,” he went on. However, the priority now is funding programs, he stated.