Airbus Helicopters picks Malaysia as regional MRO hub
KUALA LUMPUR: Airbus Helicopters is positioning Malaysia as its regional hub for the maintenance, repair and overhaul as well as training simulation and new completion and deliveries.
Chief executive officer Bruno Even said Airbus Helicopters sees Malaysia as a growth potential serving Asia Pacific region.
“This is our strategy to strengthen our footprint in Malaysia in all areas including commercial aircraft, military transport and space applications.
“The expanded facility in Subang will enable us to provide the best possible support to our customers in the fast growing Asian region, backed by our extensive range of helicopters,” he said at a media briefing here recently.
With over 15 years of presence in Malaysia, Airbus Helicopters has over 100 civil and military helicopters in service, supported by more than 100 personnel to serve customers’ operation.
“We are also integrating all heavy MRO service for Southeast Asia (SEA) in Subang, while finalising the new helicopter completion and delivery centre,” he said.
Even said Malaysia would become a strong base for Airbus Helicopters with the addition of a AS365 Dauphin full-flight simulator, offering customised training for operators in the region and customers globally.
The simulation centre has already been offering H225 training to pilots and crew from from customers in the military, parapublic and civil sectors throughout the Asia Pacific region.
The company accounts for about half of the civil and parapublic market in Malaysia, reflecting its wider success across Asia and the Pacific with 2,000 helicopters currently in service.
“Malaysia is also the regional centre for helicopters service with strategic location for an industrial base for us to support the market, training as well as MRO services.
“We will also deliver new helicopters at Subang based on orders for the region. We decided to integrate our activities here to consolidate the position of Malaysia as our regional hub for all our industrial activities and capabilities,” he added.
He said Malaysia is one of the most important strategic markets for Airbus Helicopters with about 50 per cent market share for rotorcraft locally.
The company expects to deliver up to 12 helicopters from its new completion and delivery centre in the first phase this year.
“We are commissioning the centre and expect it to be certified by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia by end of April.
“We have the capacity of delivering 20 helicopters per year. We already secured orders from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines for civil and military helicopters,” he said.
On its full-flight simulation centre, he said Airbus Helicopters has secured its first customer from the UAE Navy, which had already begun its training this month.
“We wanted to leverage our competency locally and continue to contribute to the development of helicopter industry in Malaysia, particularly all the fleet operating by the Air Force, Navy, Police, and civil and private markets,” he said.
Airbus Helicopters projected that the global demand for helicopters to reach 22,000 in the next 20 years. Of the total, Asia Pacific is expected to account about 35 per cent of the global demand.
Airbus Helicopters’ Malaysian facility is strategically located about 25km from Kuala Lumpur at the Malaysia International Aerospace Centre (MIAC), Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, Subang.
Spanning over 10,000 sqm, the facility is fully-equipped to provide a broad spectrum of services ranging from scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, aircraft modifications, logistics support for spares and power-by-the-hour services.
With the expanded MRO centre in Subang, the facility will able to support a wide range of civil and military rotocraft including the AS365, H120, H130, H135, H145, H155, H225, H225M and AS555SN Fennec.
Source: NST