Airbus sees future for Super Puma but no quick rebound in helicopter market

By Cyril Altmeyer and Tim Hepher

FARNBOROUGH, England (Reuters) - Airbus has no plans to scrap its Super Puma helicopter in the wake of a crash that killed 13 people in Norway, the head of its helicopter division said on Wednesday, but he warned the market would be weak at least until the end of 2017.

The Super Puma, a staple of the offshore oil industry, was banned from commercial use in Norway and Britain following the accident in which everyone on board died after the main rotor blades separated from the aircraft.

"Of course the product will have a future. We really believe in this product," Airbus Helicopters chief executive Guillaume Faury told Reuters, when asked about the accident, which he described as a shock for the company.

Norwegian investigators have ruled out human error in the accident, the first fatal crash involving the H225 model, and have contacted European air safety authorities about a possible safety issue with the helicopter's gearbox.

"At that moment, we don't know if this is design, production, maintenance or a combination of the three," Faury said. "We need to understand, to go to the bottom of the root cause and then solve the problem."

Earlier generations of the Super Puma have 5.3 million flight hours over 30 years, he said.

An uptick in the oil price following January lows has not been sufficient to boost demand for helicopters in the oil and gas sector, where companies continue to cut costs, he said.

"There is overcapacity in the helicopter sector for supplying the oil and gas [sector] and I don't anticipate that things will change in 2016 and in 2017," Faury said.

Even with a reasonable increase in the oil price, it would take time before investment restarts, he added.

"Maybe we have reached the bottom of the crisis as far as the helicopter industry is concerned but I am not speculating that things will rebound quickly."

Airbus Helicopters is hoping for a boost from its military wing in two tenders in Poland, one for Super Pumas and one for attack helicopters.

It is also hoping to sell 32 Super Puma helicopters to Singapore for $1 billion, a tender in which it had been the favourite before the deal was put on ice after the crash.

(Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Mark Potter)