Airbus Helicopters recorded orders for 455 aircraft last year, representing a roughly 10 percent increase over its performance in 2023.
The company also delivered 361 helicopters in 2024, which it claims represent a 57 percent share of the civil and parapublic helicopter market over the year.
“The civil and parapublic market is no [longer just] recovering, but growing versus pre-Covid levels,” Bruno Even, Airbus Helicopters’ CEO, told reporters during a media call discussing the company’s performance. “When we look at the worldwide market, it’s the first time for a few years that it’s above 2019 worldwide bookings.”
He said the civil market has been driven by the rebound in the energy sector, as well as increased demand from the air medical segment. The parapublic and private/business aviation (PBA) sectors are also strong, he added.
The military market continues to offer a strong source of orders thanks to a geopolitical climate in which many countries are choosing to renew their helicopter fleets.
Even said the highlight of 2024 in terms of program performance was the Super Puma, with Airbus recording 58 bookings for the rejuvenated heavy-lift type over the year. The backbone of this intake was an order for 38 H225s for the Bundespolizei.
“It’s really a strong performance [for the H225 in 2024], confirming that this helicopter is really well positioned and meeting well the demand of our customers, both on the civil and on the military [side],” said Even. “We are committed to the product, and I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to confirm this positive trend on in the year to come.”
Indeed, the company has already recorded 12 bookings for the type in 2025.
The H145 continues to be another strong performer for Airbus, with the company taking orders for 114 of the type in 2024. Despite representing a significant drop from the number of bookings it recorded the previous year (when 186 H145s were ordered), Even said it was still a “very, very strong year,” for the type. During the last 12 months, the H145 fleet also passed eight million flight hours and the 2,000th H145 was delivered.
Airbus has an order backlog of more than 300 for the H145, and was able to ramp production up by 30 percent in 2024. It hopes to continue this to be able to produce between 120 and 130 H145s per year to be able to meet market demand.
Also of note were more than 200 orders for the manufacturer’s light helicopters (155 H125s and 47 H130s), which Even said represent the highest level for a decade. The orders were driven by strength in the public services, commercial and PBA segments, he said.
The super medium H175 recorded 18 bookings, which Even said “confirm the good recovery of this segment” thanks to a rebound in the oil-and-gas/energy sector, adding that Airbus is optimistic that this momentum will continue in the years to come. The manufacturer plans to have the type’s de-icing configuration certified this year — as well as long-awaited type approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
One model that did not record significant orders over the year was the H160 — the manufacturer’s most recently-certified type. However, Even said he was “not at all disappointed” about the total of just four orders for the medium-lift aircraft in 2024, with the program team currently working through a backlog of over 100 units.
“The feedback we got all along the year 2024 from the customers was [that they were] really satisfied about the performance of this helicopter,” he said. “The main challenge for the program is really to deliver and to ramp up.”
He referenced the Super Puma’s lack of any orders in 2023, followed by an “exceptional year” in 2024.
“We assess the performance of our product not based on the performance of a year, but based on the midterm,” he said. “And from that perspective, first, [the H160 was] very successful in the past years, more than 100 helicopter in the backlog, and [I’m] very positive about the perspective I see for the years to come, starting with 2025.”