Airbus Support & Services Update
Romain Trapp, a highly experienced executive
with experience, worldwide shared updates
aviation about
Airbus’ support and services program. He said Airbus is not introducing new support products this year, but it has launched new products over the last few years and is ensuring the success of those programs in 2024. The company has 400,000 helicopters flying with 5,000 operators and 25 support staff all focusing on supporting operators.
Their priority is to deliver safe support and solutions. Their customers are the focus, and they ensure they can fly when needed. Obtaining product support from
the supply chain over the past few years has been challenging, but Trapp said it is getting easier. A major reason he doesn’t want to introduce new support products this year is because Airbus wants to strengthen the supply chain relationships. Airbus must add stock and full-time staff at supplier locations to ensure faster delivery, he said.
One issue could be the workforce and the ability of the supply chain to ramp up with more people, he said. “When a supplier is asked to increase by 20%, 30%, or 40%, you need people; it’s hard to do in one year. It can be a bottleneck with people and machines.” The inability to rapidly add people can delay projects. Suppliers also could be financially challenged, he
said, especially with the backlog and long lead times. Purchase orders used to be six months to a year out, he said. Now Airbus is providing longer-term purchase orders, so it’s easier for suppliers to ask banks for financing. Airbus works hard to provide long-term visibility to suppliers so it’s easier for them to plan out their work.
Airbus is mining parts from older helicopters by purchasing various brands, dismantling them, and adding them to the customer inventory.
Light Helicopter Updates - 40 Million Flight Hours!
Airbus’ light helicopter business is alive and well. With 200 deliveries in 2023, it’s the highest sales margin in the last decade. The fleet of light helicopters flew 1.5 million flight hours last year. One incredible benchmark, which was celebrated at the recent Heli-Expo in Anaheim, California, is that the worldwide fleet of the Ecureuil family of aircraft reached the staggering milestone of 40 million flight hours.
The company is establishing a manufacturing line for its light helicopters in India, responding to the country’s “Make in India” initiative. Airbus leaders hope this will drive demand in that
70 Mar/Apr 2024
region (mostly civil and parapublic) and aid in financing. At a minimum, the line would be designed to produce 10 helicopters per year.
Looking forward, the horizon for other initiatives in process are:
• IFR capabilities: the H125 with Genesys HeliSAS autopilot will be certified by the FAA in 2024, then available to operators in 2025.
• The H130 with a new 3-axis autopilot will be certified in 2025.
• All aircraft should be using 100% SAF by 2030.
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