Grand Prairie, Texas

Airbus Helicopters Inc. is the leading provider of helicopters in the United States, supporting operators here over 50 years.

The company’s U.S. operations began in 1969 with the establishment of Vought Helicopter, Inc. in Texas, which France’s Aerospatiale took over in 1974.

Airbus Helicopters Inc. opened the doors to its current facilities in 1980 in Grand Prairie, which is now home to the U.S. headquarters of Airbus Helicopters.

As the major Support and Services hub for Airbus Helicopters North America, the Grand Prairie campus houses customer and technical support, sales and marketing and engineering services. Facilities also include extensive maintenance and repair offerings, a spare parts warehouse, fleet safety and training and a recently opened Fleet Operations Center.

The Airbus Helicopters Inc. facility is home to a state-of-the-art regional training and simulation center. The 18,500 square-foot Helisim Simulation Center is designed to house the first Level D full-motion flight simulators in North America for Airbus H145 and H175 helicopters, with the possibility to expand to accommodate three simulators in the future. A full flight simulator for the H125/AS350 and an EC135/EC145 are also available at the training center.

With a highly skilled workforce of more than 500 people, the Grand Prairie campus has helped to strengthen Airbus Helicopters’ position in North America, where it leads in four of the largest market segments and provides world-class aftermarket and technical support.

Columbus, Mississippi

To meet its growing U.S. business volume, Airbus Helicopters Inc. operates a modern production center of excellence near Columbus, in Northeastern Mississippi’s Golden Triangle region.

Since it opened in 2003, more than 1,300 aircraft have departed the Mississippi flight line, all of which were delivered on time or ahead of schedule.

The Columbus facility is proud to build the H125 helicopter and the U.S. Army UH-72A/B Lakota Light Utility Helicopter. Additionally, the plant handles the assembly and customization of other Airbus Helicopters models and also manufactures components for use on new-production helicopters.

In 2018, the Columbus facility was named a Center of Excellence for Completions and assumed responsibilities for the entire Airbus Helicopters North American region, allowing for quicker deliveries and greater customization for customers.

Airbus Helicopters Inc. has worked closely with the East Mississippi Community College to establish training courses in the fields of electrical systems, avionics, sheet metal and mechanics. This has enabled the college to provide a source of skilled workers from the local region to fill job openings at the facility.

Nearly 300 employees now work at Airbus Helicopters Inc. in Columbus, with 25 percent being U.S. military veterans.

DFW Distribution Center 

Airbus Helicopters Inc. operates a logistics hub and distribution center at DFW Airport.

The 80,000-square-foot facility opened in 2008 to help customers operate more efficiently and reduce aircraft downtime. Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the facility provides aftermarket support to commercial and government customers across the United States.

Each year, the distribution center handles some 316,000 transactions, with a spare parts and tools inventory of $162 million. Its location at DFW Airport allows for quick shipping and extended delivery hours, and a staff of 55 employees includes import and export compliance experts, licensed U.S. Customs brokers and Quality Assurance personnel.