News
Eurocopter Name Change to Airbus Helicopters Becomes Official
Wednesday 8th January 2014
EADS has kicked-off the New Year with a group rebranding, which has also affected the Eurocopter name. EADS, now to be known as the Airbus Group, will feature divisions called Airbus, Airbus Defence and Space, and Airbus Helicopters. Airbus will focus on the commercial aircraft business and Airbus Defence and Space will integrate its Cassidian, Astrium and Airbus Military businesses, while Airbus Helicopters is a direct name change from Eurocopter.
The decision to rebrand was announced in July 2013 and received mixed reaction from the rotorcraft industry. Eurocopter was widely considered as a global brand with no adverse connotations as a result of the reference to Europe.
According to Eurocopter CEO Guillaume Faury, “Eurocopter has grown to be the most international company in the EADS group. Over the past decade we have developed our international footprint in the most emerging markets and are also well known in key countries such as the U.S., Brazil and even in Asia. Our name no longer limits itself to just Europe. Even though you will soon know us under a different name, the scope of Eurocopter’s activities and of the company itself will be unchanged. We will remain a fully fledged helicopter division so we can continue to draw on the synergies provided by the civil and military versions of our aircraft.”
The rebranding was perhaps more relevant to the defense side of the Airbus Group’s business. The legal name will also be changed by 2015 from Airbus Group NV to Airbus Group SE (Societas Europaea). The stock symbol for the group has changed to AIR. As of Jan. 2, the helicopter maker's website remains under the Eurocopter branding, while visitors to the EADS website are directed to the new Airbus Group website. Still unclear in today's announcements is how the name change will affect the future of the "EC" helicopter designations of current Eurocopter variants, for example whether an EC135 will become an AH135.