Airbus Helicopters partners with IAS

The partnership agreement was signed today with the Abidjan-based company International Aircraft Services (IAS) at the ShieldAfrica 2014 exhibition

Firmly committed to the development of services situated in proximity to its operators, Airbus Helicopters today announced that it has certified the Abidjan maintenance centre operated by IAS, the largest civil helicopter operator in Western and Central Africa.

© Copyright IAS

The centre is equipped with all the necessary operational resources and will service the AS365 and AS350 models from the Dauphin and Ecureuil families.

With more than 670 helicopters in service in Africa and nearly 130 of them in Western and Central Africa, Airbus Helicopters is pursuing its international development, becoming the first helicopter manufacturer in the region to make available an entire maintenance and support centre certified at Operational & Intermediate (O&I) level.

“We welcome this new partnership with IAS, which underscores our commitment to providing localised support for our customers operating in the region,” said Loïc Porcheron, Airbus Helicopters’ Vice President for Africa and the Middle East. “This maintenance center will increase the availability of their fleet of helicopters, while guaranteeing affordable maintenance costs.”

“We are very happy with this agreement, which brings a genuine international dimension to our organisation and which will also allow us to create more opportunities with the region’s countries,” commented IAS CEO Hugues Moreau. “This partnership will see Airbus Helicopters’ customers being offered a complete range of services that will encompass technical and operational support as well as the maintenance of their aircraft.”

Airbus Helicopters has a network of more than 90 approved maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) centres on the five continents. This new maintenance centre will provide the region’s operators with a service bearing all the quality hallmarks of Airbus Helicopters.