Europe is seeking to cement its commercial rotorcraft edge over the U.S. Toward this end, AgustaWestland and Eu-rocopter are taking steps to ensure that their market dominance will persist beyond this decade. The higher-speed commercial passenger transport is a particular market segment attracting increased attention, with rotorcraft manufacturers seeing the potential to capture capacity from regional aircraft. The logic holds that vertical lift would be able to add capacity without requiring more airport infrastructure, which is almost impossible to generate in Europe. Rotorcraft also could supplant fast trains, which require extensive capital spending to buna new tracks.
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