As of this month, the Eurocopter brand name is no more as the new Airbus Helicopters emerges as the world’s dominant player in civil rotorcraft manufacturing.
The company was formally renamed on January 2, and the transition is now complete as the new-look Airbus Helicopters has rolled out a revamped website and officially changed the naming conventions across its model range.
While it might seem strange at first to point to the sky and say, “Look, there goes an Airbus EC 135,” the new name will catch on eventually. In fact, the manufacturer has worn a variety of corporate logos over the years. The company traces its heritage all the way back to the days of Bleriot in France and Messerschmitt in Germany, and has variously operated under the names Aerospatiale and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm.
The name Eurocopter was adopted in 1992 as the French and German helicopter makers merged under one brand. Now under direction of the Airbus Group, the Marignane, France-based company has a new name but a familiar story to tell: last year, Eurocopter delivered nearly one out of every two civil helicopters sold. This year, Airbus Helicopters is hoping for a repeat of that performance.
Get exclusive online content like this delivered straight to your inbox by signing up for our free enewsletter.
We welcome your comments on flyingmag.com. In order to maintain a respectful environment, we ask that all comments be on-topic, respectful and spam-free. All comments made here are public and may be republished by Flying.
