Canada – With some 1,200 turbine helicopters in service, the aerial work (utility) market in Canada is one of the biggest in the world. A quarter of these aircraft bear the Eurocopter hallmark, and are predominantly Ecureuils/AStars, EC130 B4s, and EC120 B Colibris.

The number of helicopters used in the “utility” sector in Canada is very high for a number of reasons. Firstly, Canada has very extensive natural resources particularly in oil and gas. To give one example, the oil reserves of the Province of Alberta are estimated at 174 million barrels, yet only 2% of this amount is currently exploited. The oil sands in this region alone constitute 15% of the world’s oil reserves, placing Alberta second only behind Saudi Arabia.

Oil prospecting has intensified over the last few years, particularly in areas with very little infrastructure, and which are only accessible by helicopter for the transport of men and equipment. Secondly, Canada is a vast country and the helicopter reduces distance and saves time. Overall, the Canadian market is stable but the operational fleet is aging.

The sale of new aircraft is therefore going to increase in the years ahead because operators are finding it harder and harder to find relatively recent pre-owned helicopters. Through its subsidiary Eurocopter Canada, Eurocopter currently supports 112 customers who mainly operate aircraft from the Ecureuil/AStar/TwinStar family in the utility sector. ■