Airbus Marks 50 Years in North America
by James Careless
What is now Airbus Helicopters came to life in North America 50 years ago.
Perhaps company leaders didn’t realize how big a deal Airbus would become, because at the time only 17 Airbus helicopters were operating on this continent and the new company had just 43 employees. To put it mildly, it was not much of a force.
How things have changed. Today more than 3,100 Airbus helicopters are flying in North America (2,600 commercial and the rest military). Airbus Helicopters has also grown to become the predominant player in the North American commercial/ utility (65% market share), corporate/VIP (86%), EMS (71%), and parapublic (62%) markets.
All of these Airbus helicopters and their nearly 800 operators are supported by a North American manufacturing, sales and services base with main locations in Grand Prairie, Texas; Columbus, Mississippi;
and Fort Erie, Ontario. More than 1,000 employees work at Airbus Helicopters’ North American facilities.
“In terms of revenue, we brought in around $1 billion in revenue for Airbus Helicopters in North America in 2018, with 2019 shaping up to be very strong as well,” said Romain Trapp, president of Airbus Helicopters Inc. and head of the North America region. (He was speaking to media during a September 2019 celebratory event encompassing both of the company’s U.S. facilities. Trapp took over from Chris Emerson in July 2019, with Emerson becoming president of Airbus U.S. Defense and Space Inc.) “Market share-wise, last year was a great year for us, especially on the commercial side. Our market share of aircraft above five seats was 76%, and on the delivery side, we achieved a record share of 72%.”
Airbus Helicopters’ journey to this market dominance is a tale of achievements and accomplishments – and it is one that started very, very humbly.
rotorcraftpro.com
47
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92
