With India emerging as a huge market for helicopters, European aerospace major EADS is planning to set up an Indian subsidiary, a helicopter training school, and a maintenance, repair and overhaul centre for helicopters in the country.
Talking to a select group of journalist in New Delhi on their way to Hyderabad for the India Aviation-2008, senior vice-president (Asia-Pacific) of Eurocopter Norbert Ducrot said, ? There is a huge potential in the civil sector and there is a shortage of trained pilots not only here but around the world. We are in discussions with some Indian institutes for setting up training facilities.?
According to Durcot the training schools will have all facilities including simulators. ?Training is very important as now there is a need for helicopters in medical and security services too.?
With the government here declaring this year as a year of the helicopters, Durcot said their company was looking at three segments of civilian market in India?Emergency Medical services, off-shore and corporate world.
There were as many as one dozen firm orders from corporates in the country. ?Our company has an advantage of providing maintenance, services and customer care in India,” Ducort said.
For the company that has been in the Indian market for almost four decades, Bruno Boulnois, general manager, Eurocopter, India, said that, ?We are keen to jointly manufacture helicopters in India, and export it to a third country.?