Airbus Helicopters and UTair extend agreement

At this week’s HeliRussia exhibition in Moscow, Airbus Helicopters and UTair signed an agreement under which UTair will continue training pilots and technicians on Ecureuil-family helicopters. All courses, which are conducted in Russian, take place at the UTair Personnel Training Center (PTC). In addition to type ratings, courses cover pilot and technician recurrent and refresher training on the AS350 B3/B3e and AS355 N/NP. The UTair PTC is among Russia’s largest civil aviation training facilities, and was certified by Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters) in 2011. Laurence Rigolini, general manager of the Airbus Helicopters Vostok subsidiary, says: “Since the establishment of our cooperation, 114 pilots and more than 100 technicians have been trained at the PTC. We are very proud to be working with [UTair PTC] to offer highly professional training in Russia — which is vital to increasing fleet safety.” UTair CEO Andrey Martirosov notes that Russian customers are increasingly asking for training solutions tailored to their specific needs. “Working hand in hand with Airbus Helicopters and Airbus Helicopters Vostok in offering such services has proved to be a key competitive advantage.”