AIRBUS : Alvaro Beteta Meredith Appointed as Head of Communications for Airbus Helicopters UK

Alvaro Beteta Meredith will be Head of Communications for Airbus Helicopters UK business and responsible for UK communications for the wider business. Starting in his new role on 1 September 2014, Alvaro Beteta Meredith will be based at the company's UK headquarters at Oxford Airport. He comes to this directly from his role as Communications and PR manager at Airbus Group UK, where for five years he deputised for Jeremy Greaves, VP Communications.

Colin James, Managing Director Airbus Helicopters UK, said, "With a strong background in aerospace and defence and an intimate knowledge of the wider Airbus Group and his European background, Al Meredith will provide the necessary experience to help raise the profile of the UK business and support wider company activities in the UK".

Cecile Vion-Lanctuit, VP Corporate Communications for Airbus Helicopters, said, "Al Meredith's appointment demonstrates the importance Airbus Helicopters places on the UK market and the need to ensure an engaged and proactive communications strategy in support of the company's reputation, strategic positioning and profile in the UK".

Alvaro Beteta Meredith has over 12 years' combined agency and in-house Communications and PR experience, including eight years in the aerospace and defence sector, firstly at Finmeccanica's Selex ES (then SELEX Galileo) followed by five years at Airbus Group UK. Mr Beteta Meredith also spent four years working agency-side, both in Spain and the UK, for top brands and blue-chip clients including Microsoft, Electronic Arts, GSK Biologicals, Pfizer, Qinetiq and National Geographic Society.

Airbus Helicopters UK Limited - Britain's civil helicopter hub - and its predecessors have been present and highly active in the United Kingdom for 40 years, dominating the civil rotary-wing sector. Its contribution to the aerospace sector of the national economy includes the development of police aviation with a 75 percent market share, a 70 percent share of the air ambulance sector, and well over 50 percent of the offshore oil and gas market. Airbus Helicopters UK Limited is headquartered in Oxford, with additional bases in Dublin (Ireland), Belfast (Northern Ireland), Hawarden (Wales) and Aberdeen (Scotland) and provides the full range of products and services for the rotary-wing sector, including prime contractor for the RAF Puma Mk2 upgrade and support programmes.

Some 450 Airbus helicopters form the largest part of the UK's helicopter fleet and the backbone of vital national infrastructure, with approximately 100 helicopters serving the UK Ministry of Defence for transport, training and high end operational missions. To date, Airbus Helicopters UK Limited has exported high technology helicopter solutions to 23 nations worldwide. The Airbus group employs more than 1500 people across the British Isles.

Airbus Helicopters, formerly Eurocopter, is a division of Airbus Group, a global pioneer in aerospace and defense related services. Airbus Helicopters is the world's No. 1 helicopter manufacturer and employs more than 23,000 people worldwide. With 46 percent market share in civil and parapublic sectors, the company's fleet in service includes some 12,000 helicopters operated by more than 3,000 customers in approximately 150 countries. Airbus Helicopters' international presence is marked by its subsidiaries and participations in 21 countries, and its worldwide network of service centers, training facilities, distributors and certified agents. Airbus Helicopters' range of civil and military helicopters is the world's largest; its aircraft account for one third of the worldwide civil and parapublic fleet. The company's chief priority is to ensure the safe operation of its aircraft for the thousands of people who fly more than 3 million hours per year.