Citic Offshore Helicopter Is China's Largest Civil Helo Operator

Eurocopter delivered the first two EC155 B1 Dauphin helicopters to Citic Offshore Helicopter Co. in Shenzhen, China. The delivery is part of a contract signed just over a year ago for a total of ten helicopters of this type. Attending the handover ceremony were Mr. Tang Wanyuan, General Manager of COHC, Mr. Bruno Boulnois, CEO of Eurocopter China, Mr. Jean Raphael Peytregnet, Consul General of France in Guangzhou, as well as Mr. Alain Berder, French Trade Commissioner for South China.

The remaining 8 helicopters will be delivered between 2010 to 2013. These 10 EC155s will strengthen COHC’s fleet which already includes 21 Eurocopter helicopters, mainly from the Super Puma and Dauphin families.

COHC is the largest civil helicopter operator in China, as well as one of the main oil and gas operators in Asia. The new helicopters will be used for offshore transport missions in the country. Since its arrival in the market in 2001, the EC155 Dauphin helicopter has established itself well in the oil and gas market. Indeed, at the end of 2008, more than 130 Dauphin aircraft were being operated in the offshore segment.

The EC155 Dauphin is a multi-role twin-engine helicopter in the 5 ton class used in China for a wide variety of missions ranging from corporate and offshore transport to law enforcement operations.

Eurocopter holds more than 40 percent of the Chinese market for civil helicopters. Around 350 helicopters from the Eurocopter family, including those manufactured under licensed production, are flying in the country.

FMI: www.eurocopter-china.com