Pawan Hans Helicopters Orders Seven Additional Dauphin Helos

Eurocopter is out in force at India Aviation 2010, the second edition of the international exhibition on Civil Aviation Sector. This event, organized by the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation, finds Eurocopter presenting many of  its commercial helicopters and latest technology.

As Norbert Ducrot, Eurocopter Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing Asia Pacific points out, “With plans to establish flying ambulances, faster transport services to tourist destinations and religious places, and set up heliports in Delhi and Mumbai, the helicopter has a busy time ahead. As always, we at Eurocopter are set to bring in our expertise to support the growth of the Indian aerospace industry."

Eurocopter currently has a fleet of 72 civil helicopters flying in India. The company covers about 50 percent of the oil & gas segment, with a majority of its aircraft being in service with Pawan Hans and Indocopters.

“For us, it is a very exciting time with respect to the Indian market. We plan to take our relationship with the Indian civil sector to the next level through several partnership agreements planned with our partners like Pawan Hans over the next few months. Our ambition is to largely increase our footprint in India to accompany the fast development of the helicopter services," added Mr. Ducrot.

On Wednesday, the company announced it had signed a contract with Pawan Hans Helicopters for seven new Dauphin AS 365 N3 helicopters. Mrs. Marie-Agnes Veve, Head of Eurocopter activities in India and Mr. Rainer Farid, VP Sales South Asia, Eurocopter presented a memento to Mr. R.K. Tyagi, Chairman & Managing Director, Pawan Hans commemorating the occasion in the presence of the Minister of Civil Aviation Shri Paful Patel and the French Ambassador, his Excellency Mr. J. Bonnafont as well as the French official delegation.

AS 365 N3 Dauphin

“Being India’s leading helicopter operator, it is our goal to provide immaculate service to all our clients. Our experience with the Dauphin fleet so far has been very promising and we are confident that the new fleet will meet the quality standards that are hallmark for PHHL," said Mr. R. K. Tyagi, emphasizing the long association between Eurocopter and Pawan Hans. With this new purchase, Pawan Hans expands its fleet to 33 Dauphins.

The two companies will also set up an MRO facility in a key Indian metro to better serve the huge Dauphin fleet being operated in India. The second Joint venture will set up a training center to support Indian needs. It will include all necessary state of the art training media.

FMI: www.eurocopter.com