Founded

1992

Headquarters

Marignane, France

Key People

Bruno Even (CEO)

Number of Employees

20,000

Phone Number

+33 (0)4 42 85 85 85

Website

Airbus Helicopters

Airbus Helicopters

Airbus Helicopters is the rotorcraft wing of Airbus, Europe's largest aerospace and defense conglomerate. The company was founded in 1992 as Eurocopter Group, after a merger between the helicopter divisions of Aérospatiale and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (DASA).

Airbus Helicopters has been a pioneer in rotorcraft development for decades. Legacy company Aérospatiale developed the world's first turboshaft-powered helicopter in 1955, the Alouette II, as well as the "Fenestron" shrouded tail rotor design, which debuted on the Gazelle in 1968. In both civil and military applications, Airbus helicopters have proven to be best sellers with a reputation for ruggedness and durability. They sport features such as full flight capabilities in icing conditions and fly-by-light digital flight controls. Airbus helicopter variants have also accomplished high-profile feats never attempted by other rotorcraft, such as the 2005 landing of an AS350 B3 at the peak of Mt. Everest.

Eurocopter was officially rebranded as Airbus Helicopters in 2014, after 22 years of operation as Eurocopter SA and Eurocopter SAS. Rotorcraft names were changed across the board, with each receiving a new numerical designation with an "H" prefix.

The Airbus Helicopters product line includes entries in the intermediate-single segment (H125 and H130), light-twin segment (H135, H145), medium and super-medium segments (H155, H160, H175), and heavy segment (H215, H225). In 2017, Airbus Helicopters announced the launch of the Airbus Corporate Helicopters (ACH) business unit, a luxury corporate helicopter development wing mirrored after the successful Airbus Corporate Jet (ACJ) model. ACH offers up-market VIP variants of the H125, H130, H135, H145, H160, and H175, positioning an offering in every segment from intermediate single to super-medium. Cabin configurations and design characteristics are customizable to consumer preference, and most feature extended ranges over their base-model counterparts.

Airbus Helicopters employs roughly 20,000 people worldwide and is headquartered at the Marseille Provence Airport in Marignane, France.