Airbus Helicopters delivered 418 rotorcraft in 2016 (+5% compared with 2015) and reported marginally higher orders (388 vs 383), against a challenging market backdrop. Despite what CEO Guillaume Faury described as “probably the most difficult year of the last decade”, the company strengthened its lead on the civil and parapublic helicopter market, with a 47% market share, while maintaining its position on the military market. 

The 2016 order total included 188 orders for light-single engine helicopters (vs 163 in 2015), 163 orders for the H135/H145 light twins (vs 156) and 23 for the Super Puma family (vs 2). However, continued turbulence on the oil and gas market dragged down orders for the H175 medium twin from 36 to 8, and the H155 saw orders slip from 13 to 6.

At the end of 2016, the overall backlog stood at 766 helicopters. 

Highlights of the year included the selection of the H225M by Singapore and Kuwait, as well as the selection of the H135/H145 family in the UK for military flight training.