After more than 7,000 aircraft, production of Airbus Helicopter’s light singles, the H125 and 130, could be as high as 300 aircraft a year if all three of the company’s production lines were to run at capacity. The company is keen to point out that those capabilities are theoretical and assume that there are no external issues with, for example, supply chains. The company’s main production line at Marignane has three lines producing aircraft at around a two H125s to one 130 ratio, and has a capacity for 210 aircraft a year at present, while the lines in the USA and China account for the remaining 90 a year potential.
That production capability means that the lead times for new build aircraft are running at around eight months to a year for H125s, depending on the specification and a year to 13 months for H130s. According to Airbus, the main challenges remain supply chain-related, as it continues its emergence from the pandemic. It notes that some suppliers, especially the smaller ones, are still struggling while others have fallen by the wayside altogether. The company is doing what it can to ensure continuity of supply either through direct intervention, taking stakes or making cash injections into suppliers or assisting them in gaining government support.
