KUALA LUMPUR: European planemaker Airbus believes that buyers in Southeast Asia region are ready to invest again in helicopters two years after the world was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Airbus Helicopters head of sales in Asia Pacific Fabrice Rochereau said the company had started seeing more requests on different range of its helicopters from the region this year compared to the last two years.

"In Southeast Asia, people were more protective of their budgets (during the pandemic). So, the activity wasn't as big, but now people are more positive. In fact, we have much more requests (for Airbus helicopters) now than we had before Covid-19," he told the New Straits Times in an exclusive interview recently.

The interest in Malaysia during the pandemic was led by Berjaya Air Sdn Bhd, a unit under Berjaya Land Bhd, with its purchase of the ACH160 and H175 helicopters from Airbus Helicopters in December 2021.

The acquisition makes Berjaya Air the first launch customer in the country for the ACH160 model.

According to Rochereau, the helicopter would be delivered to its new owner by the end of next year.

The purchase, he said, was proof that Malaysian operators believed in Airbus' products as well as the future of the local aerospace industry.

It is also a testament that the ACH160 is the most advanced helicopter compared to other helicopters in the market.

"We integrate a lot of technologies (in the ACH160) and people are happy to be the first buyers of this helicopter. So again, optimism. Malaysian operators want to have the most advanced helicopters and they rely on our brand, Airbus and our products and our footprint," Rochereau said.

He added that Airbus Helicopters was talking to other local operators, companies and private individuals for the sale of its products.

The company believes in the word-of-mouth as its promotion method as the community of helicopter owners in Malaysia was small.

Currently, there is a total of 194 in-service helicopters in Malaysia with Airbus leading the market by capturing 42 per cent of the share or over 80 Airbus helicopters in service in the country.

Of the 80 Airbus Helicopters, 37.8 per cent are military helicopters such as the Royal Malaysian Air Force's fleet of H22M, the Royal Malaysian Navy's AS555SN Fennec rotorcraft and the Royal Malaysian Police's AS355 fleet.

Thirty per cent of the Airbus Helicopters in the country are in the civil and parapublic segments such as the AS365, H130, H135 and H145 that are used for search and rescue, emergency medical services and passenger transport.

Airbus Helicopters offers services including the sale and distribution of helicopter products and services, and maintenance, overhaul and modification work, logistics support, ground handling and hangarage in Subang.

The company also has its own simulation centre in the same area that houses the region's only training simulators for the H225 and H225M helicopters, as well as a second simulator for AS365 Dauphin training.

Meanwhile, Rochereau believes that there is potential for air taxi services in Malaysia especially for domestic tourism such as a trip to Langkawi.

"We have the most efficient helicopters for tours. For example, the H130, which is the lowest range (in Airbus Helicopters' fleet), but it can carry seven passengers. It is now the only helicopter allowed to fly in the Grand Canyon in the United States. "The seven-passenger seat is a revenue maker for an operator."

He added that the H130 also has low noise reduction technology and low fuel consumption. Therefore, it is the most suitable helicopter for charter or tourism services.