Airbus Helicopters is making a push to sell its first H130 single-engined helicopter in Malaysia, while continuing to eye opportunities for additional military helicopters.
Fabrice Rochereau, vice president and head of sales, Southeast Asia & Pacific, says there are no H130s in service in Malaysia, and that he is pushing the company’s sales team to develop this helicopter’s customer base in the country.
He says the type is ideally suited to the tourism mission, given its large windows and its cabin capacity for six passengers. The company brought an H130 from Thailand to help promote the aircraft.
Rocherou adds that the H130 can generate significant profits for operators. One sightseeing operator in Australia operates nine examples, and flies up to 1,000 paying passengers daily.
Airbus Helicopters also hopes to sell more H225M (formerly designated the H725) to Kuala Lumpur. The country operates 12 H225Ms. It had planned to use the type to replace its fleet of 40 year-old Sikorsky S-61 utility helicopters, but subsequently decided to upgrade the S-61.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
