Would Be The First To Employ The Aircraft In Offshore Operations

Airbus Helicopters and Shell Aircraft have been working closely in order to put the H160 into service for offshore transportation.

“Shell seeks opportunity for early introduction to service of the H160. Having worked closely with Airbus over the last year to understand the design and manufacturing philosophy behind the H160, Shell Aircraft believes this innovative helicopter offers a potential step change in safety and operational capability. To benefit from those new capabilities at the earliest opportunity, we are remaining fully engaged with Airbus through its final certification stages and looking for opportunities to achieve an accelerated introduction to offshore service,” said Tony Cramp, VP Aircraft, Shell.

“We are honored that Shell Aircraft wants to be the first to introduce the H160 into service for offshore transportation,” said Bruno Even, Airbus Helicopters CEO. “The H160 integrates Airbus Helicopters’ latest technological innovations that introduce breakthrough safety features with Helionix’s accrued pilot assistance and automated features as well as flight envelope protection. The aircraft’s compact size will be an added advantage to landing on oil platforms,” he added.

H160 was not just designed with passengers and pilots in mind. Operators will appreciate its competitiveness thanks to its increased fuel efficiency and customer-centric simplified maintenance ecosystem: equipment accessibility has been facilitated by the helicopter’s optimized architecture, the maintenance plan was thoroughly verified during the Operator Zero campaigns, and it is delivered with intuitive 3D maintenance documentation. The H160 is due to enter into service in 2020.

(Image provided with Airbus news release)

FMI: www.airbus.com