Eurocopter stole the show at FIDAE, the International Air and Space Fair, which was held in Santiago de Chile from March 31 to April 6. Three reasons contributed to this success: The sales contracts signed, the quality of the events, and the fact that almost all of Eurocopter’s aircraft either performed flight demonstrations or were on static display.

Eurocopter has had a strong presence in Latin America for more than 30 years, and the Group currently has a fleet of more than 1,000 helicopters in this part of the world. Eurocopter is also the only helicopter manufacturer to have industrial sites on the continent, with subsidiaries in Brazil, Chile and Mexico. Given the buoyant state of the market (90 aircraft sold in Latin America in 2007 versus 65 sold in 2006), Eurocopter is looking at the possibility of expanding its industrial presence, mainly through cooperation programs with local industry.
The market’s vitality translated into the sale of seven Eurocopter seven aircraft: Two EC120 Bs and an EC130 B4 to corporate transport operators, two AS350 B3 Ecureuils/AStars to the Chilean operator Suma Air, and two EC145s to Helicópteros Marinos, a subsidiary of Heli-Union.
Eurocopter also signed cooperation agreements with two Chilean universities, Universidad Adolfo Ibañez and the Aeronautical Sciences Academy at the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, as part of the EDUCOPTER project, confirming the Group’s commitment to developing local resources and regional industry. As helicopters are playing an increasingly important role in emergency medical services (EMS) in Latin America, Eurocopter organized the first HEMS Symposium on the continent with its customer Aerorescate. The leading EMS operators were invited to the conference, which drew more than 150 people from public, military, health care and private institutions. Eurocopter presented effective solutions to problems that the health sector is facing both nationally and regionally in Latin America.