French Helicopter Operators Consolidate Further

In a further consolidation move in the French helicopter operator industry, the HBG holding company has taken over the Loc'Héli group and is thus claiming the largest fleet in the country, with a combined 117 aircraft. HBG is adding three companies to its portfolio—Hélicoptères de France and HDF Maintenance in full ownership, as well as Helifirst, in which it now has “a significant share.”

The company already had stakes, including some controlling ones, in Mont Blanc Hélicoptères, Chamonix Mont Blanc Hélicoptères, SwiftCopters, Eagle Valais, HeliShare, LB Airpark, Aero Technic's Color and AD Software. Activities of the new group range from aerial work to sightseeing flights, commercial passenger transport, heli-skiing, rescue, EMS, offshore oil-and-gas support (in Africa), newsgathering, training, aircraft management and maintenance.

Both HBG and Loc'Héli are family businesses—HBG being a Franco-Swiss firm—and HBG CEO Renaud Blanc counts on the merger to help with international growth. In addition to France, with a strong concentration in the Alps, and Switzerland, bases can be found in Algeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The combined number of permanent employees stands at 210. By integrating Loc'Héli, HBG is to increase its revenues by 75 percent, at €58 million ($64 million).