Airbus Helicopters will establish a final assembly line (FAL) for local assembly of Airbus Helicopters H135 helicopters in China. A Le...
Airbus Helicopters will establish a final assembly line (FAL) for local assembly of Airbus Helicopters H135 helicopters in China.
A Letter of Intent (LOI) for, was signed today by Yao Yixian, the Sino-German Ecopark Deputy General Manager and Wolfgang Schoder, Airbus Helicopters Deutschland CEO in Hefei, Anhui Province.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and the visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel witnessed the signing ceremony.
This LOI also includes a commitment by the Chinese party for 100 H135s to be assembled in the future FAL in China over the next 10 years.
Along with the FAL, a sales office for locally-assembled H135s to be distributed domestically, as well as maintenance, repair, overhaul and training capabilities to support the Chinese H135 fleet will also be set up.
The H135 is one of the most popular light twin-engine helicopters in China currently, performing mainly helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) and police missions. With the expected increase in civil and parapublic services demand for helicopters as China’s general aviation market continues to expand, the set up of the H135 FAL is a timely development.
China, with its rapidly expanding aviation market has been able to attract investments from global aerospace giants like Airbus and Boeing.
During the Angela Merkel's visit, China has also signed for 130 Airbus aircraft, including 30 A330 widebodys and 100 A320 family jets. in return Airbus will setup a completion center for the A320 family in China, which already have a final assembly line in China.
During Chinese Premier, Xi Jingping's Washington visit last month, the country has signed agreement to acquire 300 Boeing jets, along with a completion center for Boeing 737 in China.
