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Business Air News Bulletin
Business Air News Bulletin

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Vertical Flight Expo and Conference

Exhibitions/Conferences

Press Release

Issued by Vertical Flight Expo and Conference.

October 2, 2015

Business and Strategy Conference set to take centre stage at Helitech International

Helitech International's education programme lifts off on 6th October with the Business and Strategy Conference. The Conference will address key issues facing the rotorcraft industry over the next five to ten years, the outlook for global rotorcraft sales and identify key regional trends and market opportunities. It will debate both the challenges and the opportunities that lie ahead, as well as looking at how Original Equipment Manufacturers and their industry partners might support future rotorcraft business growth.

The morning's Business Leaders Forum, moderated by Aoife O'Sullivan, head of aircraft finance, Kennedys, will feature key thought leaders from across the industry: David Balevic, senior vice president, engineering & operations, CHC; Glenn Isbell, senior vice president customer support and services, Bell Helicopters; Jim Payton, vp customer business, civil helicopters and light turboprops, Rolls-Royce Corporation and Mike Platt, chief executive officer, Lease Corporation International.

"This year's Business Leaders Forum will give us all an opening to discuss current issues, challenges and opportunities we're facing across the industry. Customers are demanding innovation to enhance safety, improve operations and flight performance; being able to openly discuss these topics with key influencers is imperative to moving the industry forward. Bell Helicopter's primary focus continues to be on advancing technology that will drive enhanced safety and reliability" said Glenn Isbell, senior vice president customer support and services, Bell Helicopters.

In the afternoon, a stream titled 'Futureproof: Three Perspectives' will look at the key technology, finance and training issues that will impact the rotorcraft sector over the short to medium term. This will include a strategic look at new technology, new procedures and new technical applications. Furthermore, experts from the finance and insurance sector will discuss the issues that will affect the financial underpinning of rotorcraft businesses. A section on helicopter pilot training will assess the business benefits of using professional flight simulators.

"In the current market environment, we continue to look for smarter ways of working and keeping our commitments to our customers," said Tomasz Krysinski, head of research & innovation at Airbus Helicopters. "Our research and technology initiatives focus on offering safer, simpler and more cost-effective solutions which bring direct value to our customers for their current - and future - mission needs. For example, with such an innovation as the Blue Edge blades featured on our new H160 helicopter, we are able to lower the environmental footprint and operational costs while improving safety, and this is only the beginning."

Two new Focus On sessions have been introduced for 2015 broadening the offering of subjects covered in the Business and Strategy Conference, and offer attendees the opportunity to take an in depth look at business opportunities in vertical sectors. Tuesday's session will explore the current opportunities in the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) sector, provide a market outlook for UAVs, and assess the size of the opportunity for the rotorcraft sector.

Alix Leboulanger, research analyst, aerospace & defence, Frost & Sullivan, who will give a presentation on 'Helicopters and UAVs: Friend or Foe? Identifying synergies' explains, "UAVs may appear as a dark threat in the long term horizon for manned platforms, and more particularly for helicopters. This presentation will provide the estimated impact of UAVs on helicopters and how each platform can actually work together: what are the opportunities for commercial operations? What kind of business ventures we can think of? Are there any hidden challenges in the roadmap?"

Wednesday's Focus On session will analyse offshore wind farms as a growth area for rotorcraft. It will include an analysis of global market trends and opportunities for offshore wind farms, including the predicted growth in offshore wind farms, technology developments impacting on growth and transport support requirements.

"The offshore wind industry is a new playing field for helicopter operators, with new customers having limited or no knowledge and experience with managing aviation assets. Some of the know-how comes from offshore oil and gas, but a lot of it has to be developed and aligned throughout the industry" said Johan H. Hansen, managing director, Waypoint North. Mr Hansen will provide insight into the evolving role of helicopters in the off-shore wind market in his presentation 'Meeting the Needs of the Offshore Wind Sector'.

John Hyde, event director of Helitech International said "We are excited to have these two new Focus On sessions included in the Business and Strategy Conference broadening the already extensive Education Programme. The programme offers a fantastic occasion to explore new business opportunities and hear from industry leaders on their predictions for the future direction of the rotorcraft industry. For everyone associated with civil rotorcraft this year's conference is not one to be missed".