Airbus’s exhibit attracts steady
visitors on the show floor in Anaheim. Despite celebrating
record sales in 2019, the French
manufacturer was
one of many OEMs that experienced
slow growth in the mature US market last year.
stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. “I’m hesitant to even talk about a recovery anymore,” says Romain Trapp, Airbus president and head of the firm’s North America region. “I believe where we are today is the new norm. Te market of 10 years ago is gone. We must reset our expectations and aim for growth of a few percent a year versus dozens of percent.”
Product Innovation, Geopolitics at Work
Airbus While Airbus celebrated record worldwide sales in 2019, the manufacturer was one of many OEMs experiencing slow growth in the mature US market, particularly the helicopter air ambulance sector. Trapp believes this was due in part to legislation introduced in the US Senate in June 2019, S. 1895, the Lower Health Care Costs Act, which would affect emer- gency medical care in many states. (Note: as of publication, the bill had not been voted on by the Senate.) Some operators are buying aircraft to replace or expand their fleets, but most remain cautious, Trapp says. Similar ripples run through the industry about China. Many manufacturers have seen sales in that country drop
40 ROTOR 2020 Q2
significantly because of tariffs and the increasing realization that the Chinese market will be constrained by that country’s tight control of its airspace, as well as its own maturing aircraft manufacturing industry.
Leonardo and Kopter
Leonardo arguably had the biggest news at Expo, putting its diversity strategy to work by announcing the acquisition of Swiss OEM Kopter. Te move adds an additional light single- engine workhorse, the Kopter SH09, to Leonardo’s offerings. “We wanted to complete our product portfolio the right
way,” says Gian Piero Cutillo, managing director of Leonardo’s Helicopter Division. “We believe this is the right product, adding strength to our single-engine segment and comple- menting the AW119.” Kopter announced it had frozen its design for the SH09
and was in the final stages of certification. To reduce the time between approvals from the FAA and EASA, Kopter is working with both agencies to achieve full certification by the end of 2020. Once certificated, the multimission helicopter wouldn’t be far from single-engine IFR supplemental type certification (STC). Modifications to receive the STC include
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