H160 sales reach 50 percent market share after ‘turning point’ in 2025
By: Oliver Johnson | Retrieved from Vertical Magazine
The head of the Airbus Helicopters H160 program has described 2025 as “a turning point,” with “good commercial momentum” from 30 new orders — which he said represents 50 percent of the civil market in its category.
Speaking to journalists during a pre-Verticon briefing at the manufacturer’s headquarters in Marignane, France, Benoit Klein said he was confident of maintaining this market share going forwards.
“I saw the change of the market last year. . . the dynamic on the market is very, very positive,” he said. “I think the market waited, in [20]24, [for] a demonstration of the performance. . . . I think that [20]25 demonstrated the performance of the product, and now the market is ready.”
Production over the year continued to ramp up, and while the company won’t disclose exact figures, Klein said they delivered “substantially more than 24” of the new medium. The company is ultimately targeting 60 deliveries annually — 40 civil and parapublic, and 20 of the military H160M version.
The performance of the type in operation has also pleased the manufacturer. Across the 65 H160s now flying around the world, availability is at over 90 percent.
“We market a lot about the performance [of the H160],” said Klein. “Now, we demonstrate the performance in terms of fuel consumption, speed, vibration, [and] safety features.”
The offshore sector is one of the key markets for the type. It made its debut in the work in 2024 with PHI in the Gulf of Mexico, where it has been flying as part of a “route-proving program” in partnership with Shell.
“PHI saw the flights in terms of fuel consumption is completely in line with what we promised,” said Klein. “[They have also had a] good level of availability.”
Airbus is “discussing” with PHI the options for adding further H160s to the operator’s fleet, he said.
Omni has been another early adopter of the H160 for offshore work, but suffered a ditching in January — the first notable accident involving the type. All eight on board escaped without injury, and the preliminary accident investigation appears to indicate a maintenance, rather than mechanical, cause.
The French Gendarmerie received its first H160 in December, and two of the type are in service with Japan’s national police agency “with good feedback” said Klein. The New York State Police is set to become the first U.S.-based H160 law enforcement customer after placing an order for one at Verticon last year.
At this year’s event, Airbus will be displaying an emergency medical services (EMS) kit for the H160, designed by Metro Aviation.
Klein said the aircraft’s power, range and cabin space will make it a good fit for the EMS market. “[With] the stretchers, you will see the advantage to go 360-degrees around the patient,” he said. “We did that in [a demonstration tour in] Australia with some doctors, who really appreciated the space in the cabin, the capacity to bring more [medical] devices supporting the EMS mission.”
Looking ahead, Klein said the manufacturer is targeting a March approval of a main gearbox time between overhaul (TBO) extension to 3,000 flight hours from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). It hopes to have this certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in September. Airbus hopes to achieve a further extension to 6,000 flight hours once the global fleet-leading aircraft reaches that landmark.
Another recent performance boost impacts the 40 percent of H160s flying with an inlet barrier filter (IBF). The manufacturer has improved the payload by up to 330 pounds (150 kilograms) for these aircraft.