Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-07-10
Three Chinese companies signed a contract on July 7 to purchase 123 helicopters from Airbus' helicopter branch during the visit by the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, according to Reuters.
A Bavarian State Police EC-135 helicopter in Germany. (Internet photo) |
Three Chinese companies signed a contract on July 7 to purchase 123 helicopters from Airbus' helicopter branch during the visit by the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, according to Reuters.
"We
are grateful to the operators for selecting Airbus Helicopters to be their
partner in developing the general aviation market to serve China's needs,"
said Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus Helicopters. Two types of helicopters
including the light single-engine helicopters from Airbus Helicopters' Ecureuil
family and the light twin-engine EC135 will be purchased by the Chinese firms
according to the report.
Our sister
newspaper China Times said that Guangdong Baiyun General Aviation Company
purchased 50 helicopters while the Yunnan Fengxiang General Aviation Company
bought 18 and Fujian Xinmei General Aviation Company bought 55. The Chinese
helicopter market is growing at a rapid speed, as Airbus had previously
predicted. Currently, 800 civilian helicopters are purchased annually on the
global market, while China buys only 50 on average.
This number
is expected to grow gradually by 2020 according to Airbus, after which China is
expected to buy around 200 civilian helicopters each year.
"It is
evident that China’s relaxation of its low-altitude airspace regulations is
enabling the country's burgeoning helicopter market to realize its
potential," said Faury.
The Chinese
market for helicopters is predicted to be worth US$68 million over the next 20
years, according to the company, which is jointly owned by France and Germany.
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