Sikorsky Finding Its Products Receiving
Worldwide Acceptance as Airline Adjunct

Sikorsky is here at Heli-Expo `99 with an airline theme: its S-92 Helibus is flying in psuedo "commercial carrier" colors; the new mockup on the stand is outfitted with 20 passenger seats; and the S-76C+ on show is destined to join three others in Hong Kong with East Asia Airlines.

Indeed, the S-76 is becoming increasingly popular with airlines; it is used in scheduled service by Helijet Airways in Vancouver, by HelikopterService to link Copenhagen Airport with Malmo and Helsinborg in Sweden; and by East Asia Airlines between Hong Kong and Macau.

"Some S-76 operators are developing codeshare agreements with airline support in Europe," Sikorsky international marketing manager Ken Kelley told Show News. "And Helijet is in talks with Canadian Airlines," he added.

"Helicopter airline service has been tried before in some cities, but was knocked out of the box by unreliability and poor economics," he noted. Then, 20 years ago, helicopter service in New York was halted after a crash on the roof of the Pan Am building. "But now safety and economics are under control," he added.
Sikorsky plans to sell 18 S-76s this year after delivering a similar number in 1998. "We're not happy with those numbers, but it sustains the program," Kelley noted. Sikorsky, he stressed, will stay in that segment as it currently supports some 500 S-76s around the world.

By John Morris