EUROPEAN aeronautics and space firm Airbus sees a growing market for its helicopters in the Philippines.
This developed as it recently sold an H130 (formerly Eurocopter EC130) to Cebu-based helicopter charter operator GCA Skyline Aviation Inc.
In a news statement, Lionel de Maupeou, managing director of Airbus Helicopters Philippines, said: “The Philippines is one of the most active markets in the Southeast Asia region, presenting abundant opportunities for new helicopter acquisition.”
He added that the H130 is a member of the Ecureuil family of light helicopters, “renowned for its performance, reliability, safety and multimission capability”.
In the Philippines, close to 60 Ecureuil helicopters are currently flown by civil and parapublic (C&P), and commercial operators, making them the most popular helicopters. Airbus Helicopters accounts for 50 percent of the market share in the commercial and C&P segments in the Philippines, he stressed.
“We are happy that Airbus Helicopters was chosen by GCA Skyline once again as its sole helicopter provider. With our customer center conveniently located at the airport, we are committed to ensuring full support and providing comprehensive services to GCA Skyline,” de Maupeou said.
Airbus said the Philippine firm will use the H130 for commercial operations, the transport of VIPs and tourism purposes. GCA Skyline currently operates an H125 (formerly AS350).
“As a fast-growing company, we look to the most efficient and reliable aircraft to expand our operations in a sustainable manner,” said Joenina Mah, accountable director of GCA Skyline in the same news statement.
“Having experienced the powerful and cost-efficient H125 and the successes it has brought us, we are confident that the H130 is the ideal platform to meet our needs, as we expand our operations,” she noted. GCA Skyline took delivery of the H130 in July.
According to Airbus, the H130’s roomy interior allows an eight-seater configuration, ideal for panoramic helitours and comfortable VIP transportation. It has a flat floor design, which can be easily reconfigured within minutes to match a wide range of missions, including emergency medical services, law enforcement, as well as search and rescue.
While Airbus didn’t mention the cost of the H130, independent research show a unit is priced anywhere from $2 million to $2.5 million (P100.8 million to P126 million).
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, as of September 2016, GCA Skyline, based in Mactan, has an air operator certificate as a nonscheduled domestic operator. In May 2016 one of GCA Skyline’s helicopters, a single-engine light helicopter AS350B with registration number RP-C6828, crashed in Sarawak, Malaysia. The accident claimed the lives of its pilot and several ranking government officials of Malaysia.
Airbus is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related services. In 2016 it generated revenues of €67 billion (P4.02 trillion) and employed a work force of around 134,000. Airbus offers the most comprehensive range of passenger airliners, from 100 to more than 600 seats.
In the Philippines, Airbus holds a sizeable share of the market for planes, with major carriers Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific currently beefing up their fleets. Cebu Pacific announced in June that it ordered seven
A321-CEO planes worth $812 million (P41 billion) from Airbus. But the carrier also said it was delaying the delivery of 32 A321-NEO planes it earlier ordered, until 2018.
Last year PAL ordered six A350-900 planes from Airbus in a deal worth $1.85 billion (P93.24 billion). The pioneering flag carrier will be using the new planes in a bid to expand its long-haul market, from Manila to the US, Canada and other destinations in Europe. At present, London is the only market PAL services in Europe.
Airbus is also a European leader providing tanker, combat, transport and mission
aircraft, as well as Europe’s No. 1 space enterprise and the world’s second-largest space business. In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civil and military rotorcraft
solutions worldwide.
Image credits: Image courtesy of Airbus
1 comment