FRANCOIS HOLLANDE INAUGURATED THE AIRBUS PLANT IN GHIMBAV Serge Durand, Airbus: "The first helicopters - in 2018, if a major order comes soon"

French President Francois Hollande is visiting Romania, three days ahead of a European summit ahead of a post-Brexit European summit in Bratislava meant to breathe new life into the European Union, shaken by the decision of Great Britain to leave the EU, AFP wrote on Monday.

Tuesday afternoon, Hollande was going to inaugurate the Airbus Helicopters plant in Braşov, where "the first helicopters are scheduled to come out in 2018, provided a significant order comes soon", Serge Durand, the CEO of the Romanian subsidiary of the Airbus group told AFP.

"H215, the aircraft which will be 100% manufactured in Braşov is the most reliable aircraft in the world (5 million flight hours). All H215 aircraft fly unrestricted all over the world. H215 has never suffered any technical malfunction that caused an accident", sources close to Airbus Helicopters claim.

Hollande's vist was related to the attempt by Airbus to try and sell to Romania ten H215 helicopters, with the final amount of the contract being approximately 150 million Euros. "H215 is the right choice for Romania. It represents an investment for the next 30 years. In terms of its use, it is more effective than any current or prior competitor. The proven availability is over 92%, while old aircraft (such as Puma) have an increasing number of problems concerning availability (shortage of spare parts, obsolete parts, suppliers that no longer exist...). Imagine the impact on Romania's image, if the Puma aircraft of the UN were to have low availability in the humanitarian missions", the quoted sources also say.

An alternative to this contract would be the retooling of 10 - 12 Puma aircraft, a contract which would only cost 68 million Euros.

"Even if, in the short term, the costs are lower, would you invest in your old car to turn it into a «new» one? There is a limitation imposed by technology when it comes to turning something old into something new. In less than ten years, a new H215 aircraft will be less expensive than a modernized Puma aircraft. And the former can be used for another 20 years at least, while the old Puma is at the end of its lifecycle. The new generations of airline specialists will be trained for new technologies, competitive globally", our sources are saying.

"The French army has been using H215 aircraft daily on the battlefield, in any kind of weather conditions and particularly during sand or snow conditions (the 4-axes automatic pilot is a necessity for landing safely in the case of a sandstorm or blizzard). Finland recently acquired 4 H215 aircraft and they are very pleased. Indonesia has postponed two deliveries of H215 aircraft due to some local commercial problems", our sources are saying.

Romania must set an example of economic diplomacy: the use of H215 aircraft in UN missions will generate higher sales among UN contributor countries, the sources further said. According to them, this will generate a higher volume of orders in Romania for the H215 model which will lead to the increase of the capacity of the plant in Brasov, more jobs and a significant increase of the GDP of Romania for the next 30 years.