Maintenance involves approvals, services, and expansion. Read on for a review of the latest developments at the various Eurocopter-approved maintenance and repair centers all over the world.

Even More Services for Europe

Customers from Belgium and Luxembourg will appreciate the agreement signed by Eurocopter and NHV: this Belgian company can now perform maintenance on the EC120 B Colibri, AS365 Dauphin, AS350, and AS355 aircraft. This approval, which only concerns civil helicopters, is valid until December 2007.
Helisuporte, a subsidiary of Héli Portugal, has also just received its approval, which is valid for five years until the end of 2010. The company can now perform maintenance operations for Portuguese civil customers on the EC120 B Colibri, AS350/AS355 Ecureuil, and A365/EC155 Dauphin.

An Expanded Offer for France

The company Hélicoptère de France Maintenance (HDFM) has been created in France. A separate legal entity to HDF, this company performs all the maintenance activities. In addition to its maintenance center approval for the EC120 B Colibri, AS350 and AS355 Ecureuil, AS365 Dauphin, and EC135 (renewable in December 2006), HDFM is strengthening its presence on external markets and is placing the accent on aircraft customization, such as paintwork, upholstery, specific layouts, and optional equipment integration. To improve quality, and maintain a high level of services, the HDF “maintenance” personnel have now joined the HDFM teams. SAF Industrie, which is already qualified as a maintenance center for the Alouette, Lama, Gazelle, AS350/AS355 Ecureuil, and EC130, has also added the EC135 to its range to improve its territorial coverage for aircraft from the Eurocopter range.

The World: First Asian Center for EC225

Customers in Western Australia can now call on Azure Helicopters, the only maintenance center approved by Eurocopter and Australian Aerospace in the region, for work on the AS350 B, BA, and B2 Ecureuil helicopters. Once again, the aim of this approval is to allow Eurocopter to be present on every continent and to stay in contact with its customers throughout the aircraft life cycle.
The maintenance center approval for the Indian operator Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd (PHHL) has been renewed for a further three years until 2008. The approval covers the O- and I-level maintenance activities for civil and parapublic operators of AS365N, N1, N2 and N3 Dauphins in India, and about ten other countries in South East Asia. This renewal confirms the strength of the links between Eurocopter and PHHL, the primary Dauphin operator in the Asian oil industry, and will allow Eurocopter to continue offering customers a responsive, doorstep service in this region.

In Japan, Jamco’s repair center approval has been renewed for five years. Jamco performs repairs on the AS332 L1 Super Puma, and maintenance on the BO105, EC135, AS365/ EC155 Dauphin, and AS332 Super Puma for Japanese customers. Jamco has just had its maintenance approval extended to the EC225, making it the first Eurocopter center in Asia to cater for this aircraft, which has really taken off in Japan, following its commercial successes with the Japan Defence Agency (JDA) and Japan Coast Guard (JCG) in 2005.