Eurocopter is teaming up with Abu Dhabi VIP helicopter operator Falcon Aviation Services to open its first maintenance centre in the booming Arabian Gulf market.
The maintenance centre will be based in Falcon Aviation's 1,600m2 (17,200ft2) hangar at the city's Bateen air base, the original international airport that the United Arab Emirates capital plans to re-establish as a downtown business aviation airport.
Although rival AgustaWestland runs its own maintenance operation at Abu Dhabi Aviation, Eurocopter has not until now had a local centre to support a fleet of around 650 of its civil and military helicopters in the region.
Philip Markham, general manager of Falcon Aviation Services, says that the maintenance business will be run separately from the rest of the company, with Falcon to be "treated like any other customer".
Falcon is a major Eurocopter operator, with an EC130 and an EC135 in service, and two EC130s and two AS365s on order. It also flies two Agusta 109 Grands, as well as four search and rescue helicopters on behalf of the UAE armed forces.
The company has ordered its first fixed-wing aircraft, with three Gulfstream G450s and four Grob SPn light jets set for delivery between 2008 and 2010 (Flight International, 29 May-4 June).
Source: Flight International
