Coming off its best year for orders in more than a decade, Airbus Helicopters North America is primed and ready for a repeat in 2025.
Bart Reijnen, president of Airbus Helicopters Inc. and head of the North American region, presented the division’s 2024 results during a March 6 media call — just days before the vertical-lift industry will descend on Dallas, Texas, for the March 10 to 13 Verticon tradeshow.
Reijnen opened the call by recapping Airbus Helicopters’ presence in North America, including its regional headquarters in Grand Prairie, Texas; a production facility in Columbus, Mississippi; and a sales, MRO and composite center of excellence in Fort Erie, Ontario.
One year ago during the pre-Verticon media briefing, Reijnen said he predicted a “year of opportunity” for Airbus Helicopters in 2024.
“Our expectations proved to be absolutely right,” he said. “In 2024, we confirmed very positive momentum in the helicopter market, and that was particularly true in HEMS [helicopter emergency medical services].”
In fact, North American orders accounted for more than 30 percent of global Airbus Helicopters orders last year, revealed Reijnen.
“It was a very strong market in the U.S. and Canada. We sold 145 helicopters last year in North America and our market share grew from around 45 percent to nearly two-thirds of the North American market. We grew our market share in every single segment in the U.S. and Canada.”
Reijnen said the increase was largely driven by the emergency medical sector, while other markets such as private and business, commercial, and public services were stable.
“The result of that was we saw the best year in North America in terms of bookings for more than a decade. It was a very, very important year,” he commented.
Breaking down sales by model, Reijnen shared that single-engine helicopter sales (H125 and H130) doubled between 2023 and 2024, heavily fuelled by demand from EMS, public services and commercial air transport.
On the twin-engine side, sales for the H145 helicopter were stable, while the OEM saw a huge increase in sales for its H135 — more than four times as many bookings than in 2023.
“In 2024, we also saw a new product entering the market in both the U.S. and Canada: the H160 [medium twin-engine helicopter]. In 2023, we had certification, and last year was about successfully introducing that new helicopter. It’s nice to see that our customers really like the aircraft and the support they are getting . . . I think the H160 will be everybody’s darling in the years to come.”
Reijnen also said that Airbus Helicopters has been busy tracking customer profiles.
“Twenty-eight percent of all the bookings in 2024 were customer aircraft that were either new to the world of helicopters and/or converted from the competition. This is a strong signal of the trust placed in Airbus Helicopters.”
Moving from orders to deliveries and revenues, 2024 saw Airbus Helicopters deliver 59 helicopters in North America, across all mission segments. Reijnen said that about two-thirds of North American H125s delivered in 2024 were assembled in the Columbus plant.
That location celebrated another win in 2024, producing nine commercial H145 helicopters — the civilian version of the UH-72 Lakota already being built there. In 2025, the OEM aims to double that number.
Airbus Helicopters North America is also involved in the first phase of development for a U.S. Marine Corps UH-72 Aerial Logistics Connector, an uncrewed version of the Lakota.
With 2024 revenues just south of US$1.2 billion (described as “stable” compared to 2023), Airbus Helicopters North America is also focused on future innovation.
As an example, its single-engine H125 helicopter was just certified by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for single pilot instrument flight rules (IFR) operations on March 3. First deliveries are expected in 2025.
“We have customers signed up for the H125 IFR version,” said Reijnen. “I think we’ll see huge interest from EMS as well as public services.”
The OEM is also working with Garmin on the development of a new three-axis autopilot for the H130.
Other highlights mentioned by Reijnen during the briefing were the successful introduction of the H145 to the firefighting role, and the ongoing work to certify the H175’s full icing protection system (FIPS). As well, he said 85 percent of spare parts were delivered to customers within 24 hours.
Looking ahead to 2025, Reijnen expects a significant increase in North American production, with deliveries up by about 30 percent.
“We see that as a huge opportunity, because it underlines our strategy. We have been investing for many years in our U.S. and Canadian footprint. It underlines how important it has been to invest in North America.”
Customer service and support is a strategic priority for Airbus Helicopters North America. While Reijnen admitted that the current economic climate — characterized by a rapidly shifting tariff landscape — could present challenges, he said the company is watching closely and “where we need to adapt, we will have to adapt.”
