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BIZCHINA> Top Biz News
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Helicopter industry readies to take off in China
By Lu Haoting (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-10-12 08:01
Eurocopter's revenues doubled in China in 2008, and the European civil and military helicopter maker expects the booming trend to continue this year, a senior company executive said. The country's civil and semi-public sector promises great potential for using helicopters for offshore oil and gas exploration, homeland security, search and rescue operations and other public utility purposes, said Bruno Boulnois, CEO of Eurocopter China. "Once the low altitude airspace regulations are relaxed, China could rapidly become one of the largest helicopter markets in the world. The country will need at least 300 helicopters by 2015, and the demand could exceed 1,000 helicopters over the next 20 years," Boulnois said. So far his company's sales target looks on track. The China Rescue and Salvage Bureau, which operates under the Ministry of Transport, ordered two EC225 heavy helicopters in August shortly after the purchase of one EC225 by the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department. Earlier this year, the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau ordered one EC120 single-engine light helicopter. There are less than 180 civil helicopters in China, while the United States has more than 10,000 and Brazil has nearly 500, according to figures from Avicopter Co Ltd. Avicopter leads the helicopter division under China Aviation Industry Corp (AVIC), the country's leading aviation manufacturer. Avicopter is even more optimistic than Eurocopter about China's helicopter needs. Avicopter estimates that China will need 1,440 helicopters by 2018, with 83 percent of the demand coming from the affluent eastern parts of the country, once the government relaxes low altitude airspace controls. The company plans to deliver 300 civilian helicopters annually beginning in 2018, Xia Qunlin, vice president of Avicopter, said at an industry forum late last month. A major constraint on the civilian helicopter industry in China is airspace restrictions and the resulting lack of air and ground services. Except for designated commercial air routes, China's mainland airspace is under the administration of the air force. Insufficient pilot and maintenance crews also hamper development of the industry. The Chinese government has been reportedly working on a plan to gradually open airspace below 600 meters to facilitate growth in general aviation. Boulnois said the devastating earthquake in Sichuan province in May 2008 led to demands to equip most areas with helicopters for disaster relief. Helicopters demonstrated unique advantages in the disaster-relief efforts last year after the earthquake toppled buildings, blocked roads, and destroyed railways and bridges. Boulnois said the demand for private helicopters also is expected to increase because of the country's rapid economic growth. Eurocopter recently increased its share from 21 percent to 34 percent in its maintenance joint venture, COHC General Aviation Maintenance & Engineering Co (CGAMEC), in China.
The company, based in Shenzhen, was created in 2001 as a joint venture between COHC, Samwell Aviation and Bristow of England, an offshore helicopter operator. Eurocopter became a shareholder of the company in November 2002. "We increased our share in CGAMEC because the number of helicopters in service in China is increasing. We need to provide CGAMEC more capabilities," Boulnois said. (For more biz stories, please visit Industries)
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