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Airbus Helicopters Introduces 'HForce' Weapons Package

Airbus Helicopters has introduced “HForce,” a new “generic” weapon system for the H125M light single, H145Mlight twin and H225M medium twin helicopters. The newly structured offer, focused on the manufacturer’s military commercial rotorcraft, follows an “incremental” approach to arming them. It includes a variety of ballistic and g...

Airbus touts 400-seat 'A350-8000' jetliner

Airbus is seeking airline support for a new 400-seat jetliner provisionally dubbed the A350-8000 as competition escalates with Boeing over the world's largest two-engined jets, airline and aviation industry sources said. After talking up the possibility of a new member of its A350 family, the European planemaker has swung into an active pre-marketing phase as it responds to a recent up...

Airbus Helicopters is taking care of its customers on every flight with HCare

One year following the launch of HCare, Airbus Helicopters continues to improve its HCare Customer Service offer, providing customers with the highest levels of service and support. Customer Service is an essential part of Airbus Helicopters’ offer and represents nearly half of the company’s yearly turnover. In the year since its creation, HCare has grown in each of the 5 domains that...

The rugged and economic H215 ready for the U.S. market

Airbus Helicopters’ H215, the twin-engine, versatile, economic and robust helicopter designed to meet for a wide range of utility missions, will embark on a US-wide demo tour following its appearance on static display at the 2016 Heli Expo international trade show. Beginning on March 4, the H215 will perform demonstration flights in Louisville (Kentucky), Huntsville (Alabama) and then on...

Airbus A380 Makeover in Limbo on Emirates Capacity Squeeze

Airbus Group SE said a new version of the A380 superjumbo is unlikely to enter the market until the mid-2020s as the double-decker jetliner’s biggest operator, Emirates Airline, struggles with limits on flights from its home market. Emirates has pressed Airbus to develop a re-engined model of the world’s biggest passenger plane, the backbone of its international fleet, promising an...

Airbus Helicopters updates Executive Committee, puts stronger focus on Customer Support & Services

Ben Bridge (44) has been appointed Executive Vice President Global Business while Matthieu Louvot (41) becomes Executive Vice President Customer Support & Services, in a move aimed at consolidating Airbus Helicopters’ leading position while remaining as close as possible to its customers. Both Global Business and Support & Services functions are now sitting at the company’s Exe...

Air France Will Cut Even More Staff in 2016

Air France told a workers’ council it will eliminate 1,605 jobs this year, with all cuts to come through voluntary departures, people familiar with the situation said. Ground staff, including mechanics and airport workers, account for the vast majority of the cuts, with 1,405 jobs set to go, or 3 percent of their total, the people said declining to be named because the talks are private....

Building Airplane Toilets Isn’t Cutting It Anymore for Zodiac Aerospace

Budget airline Ryanair caused an outcry five years ago when it cheekily suggested its airplanes might forgo seats to cut costs, obliging weary passengers to stand instead. In the wake of the troubles at Zodiac Aerospace, a French supplier of aircraft seats, airlines and aircraft manufacturers must be starting to regret the idea didn’t catch on. Zodiac shares plunged 25 percent on Thu...

France stuck between export and import selections

France’s DGA defence procurement agency predicts that the nation’s military exports will have nearly doubled in 2015, thanks in no small part to its first international orders for the Dassault Rafale. Although exact figures for export sales will not be confirmed until May, the DGA estimates that some €16 billion ($17.8 billion) will have been made in 2015, which would almost do...

ATR performs Clean Sky’s ‘All Electrical Aircraft’ flight test campaign

An ATR 72 prototype has taken to the skies to launch the second flying demonstration campaign as part of the EU’s Clean Sky Joint Undertaking (CS JU) program. The aim of this flight trial is to test an all electrical energymanagement system, optimizing the electrical power distributi...

BEA: Pilot's Skill Saved Falcon 7X with Runaway Trim

France's aviation accident investigation bureau BEA released its final report this week on the May 2011 pitch trim runaway incident involving a Falcon 7X in Malaysia, which caused Dassault to temporarily ground the 7X fleet. The report reveals how the crew recovered from an unusual and dangerous attitude. The pilot flying used his military experience and applied a procedure he had learned f...

Safran Takes Writedown for Snecma Silvercrest Delay

Safran will take a €654 million ($720 million) one-off, non-cash charge to cover what it called “the depreciation of program-related tangible and intangible assets” associated with its delayed Silvercrest engine. Announcing otherwise very positive 2015 financial results in Paris today, the French engine maker confirmed that it has agreed to a revised schedule for certifying the en...