Let’s Get Granular! (2024 Airbus helicopters results)
Airbus Helicopters logged 455 gross orders (net: 450) in 2024, the orders coming from 182 customers in 42 countries. The figures highlighted what has been a steady market growth with a strong performance by its light, light twin-engined, and heavy helicopters. The Company had delivered 361 helicopters in 2024, giving Airbus a preliminary 57% share of the civil and parapublic rotorcraft market.
Bruno Even, the CEO of Airbus Helicopters said that: “Airbus Helicopters’ order intake in 2024, with an increase bordering 10 percent in units for the second year in a row, highlights its stable growth in a complex global environment. I would like to thank our customers for continuing to place their trust in Airbus Helicopters in 2024.”
Even was keen to stress the importance of support and service solutions: “Supporting our customers is essential and our global footprint is a key element to achieving that. We celebrated several milestones in 2024 that attest to that – firstly the 40 years of our facility in Fort Erie, Canada. This proximity will be important for our landmark contract for the 19 H135s that will be delivered to our first Canadian defence customer. Secondly, we marked fifty years of presence in the UK and inaugurated a brand new facility in Oxford. We will continue to grow our international footprint with the addition of an H125 final assembly line in India in partnership with TATA.”
2024 was a good year for a number of development programmes. The year saw the first flight of the Racer compound helicopter, which surpassed its 407 Km/h objective after just seven flights. The CityAirbus NextGen also made its maiden flight at Donauwörth. The H175 completed its de-icing flight test campaign in Canada and Norway ahead of certification in 2025, and the H160 continued its progressive entry into service around the world with more than 30 helicopters now in service. Airbus Helicopters ramped up the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for its own development test flights and training flights in Marignane, Albacete, and Donauwörth to nearly 20%, and added the use of SAF at its new facility in Oxford, UK.
Bruno Even said that: “Defence and security is a strategic priority at Airbus Helicopters. We are proud to support our customers with helicopters that enable them to protect and serve their nations as we saw in 2024 with the US National Guard’s Lakota supporting disaster relief efforts after Hurricane Helene and the H135 and NH90 in the flooding in Valencia, Spain. We continue to innovate and expand the mission capabilities that we offer – we integrated Flexrotor into our UAS portfolio, we demonstrated crewed – uncrewed teaming capabilities with the VSR700 and an H130, and we are laying the groundwork for the European Next Generation Rotorcraft through dedicated concept studies.”
Airbus singled out the H145 and H145M programme, which it said had welcomed many new defence and security customers such as the Bahraini Police Aviation Command, the Belgian Ministry of Defence, the Brunei Air Force, the Indonesian Air Force, and the Irish Ministry of Defence.
The Super Puma programme performed strongly on the civil, parapublic and military markets with 58 orders including aircraft for the German Bundespolizei, the Japan Coast Guard, the Ministry of Defence of the Netherlands, and the Romanian Ministry of National Defence.
2024 was even a good year for the NH90, with the launch of a comprehensive upgrade, known as Block 1, and the start of flight testing for France’s Special Forces Standard 2 configuration. The first Standard 3 configuration aircraft was delivered to the Spanish Air Force.
