27 years of experience to become a first rank operator :
Wiser for this experience in mountain rescue, SAF extended his line of business towards more varied missions with all the serious and rigour of its original trade. And so the Secours Aérien Français (French Air Rescue) became the Service Aérien Français (French Air Service).Then, since 1989 SAF HELICOPTERS is animated by the founder’s son, Eric FRAISSINET surrounded by a young, dynamic and motivated collaborator’s team. Since 1989, the group expanded considerably to become a first rank contributor on the French territory. GROUPE SAF’s pilots also travel all over the world. They flew over 35 countries of the 5 continents, from Ecuador to Kirghizia, went over Nepal, and from South Africa to Scotland.

15 years ago, Group SAF has been equipped with a subsidiary technical company, SAF INDUSTRIES, which ensures the maintenance and repair of more than 60 French and foreign aircrafts.

At the beginning of the seventies, Jean CAPOULADE fascinated by the incredible prospects which offers the helicopter, decided to create HELICAP in 1977. During the first years, the principal activity of the company was focused on the pilot’s trainings, first flights, and aerial filming in Paris area.

With his son, Michel CAPOULADE, as true visionaries of the pre-medical taking care of patients, they early got specialized in medical transport. And thus, in 1983, in collaboration with one of the founders of the French SAMU, the Professor Pierre HUGUENARD, HELICAP for the first time in France puts a civil helicopter at an EMS permanent disposal, based in Créteil.

Consequently, HELICAP has constantly innovated in sanitary field for a taking care every time more efficient of the SMUR’s (Mobile service of emergency and reanimation) patients under the direction of Michel CAPOULADE. In 1994, pre-empting on the new French and European regulations, first contacts are taken with the European aircraft manufacturers to purchase a twin engine helicopter class performance1 workable in A category. In 1996, HELICAP and EUROCOPTER agreed a delivery of 10 EC135 which will start his sanitary career with HELICAP at the EMS 42 of St Etienne. This helicopter’s modern design, its low-vibrating level, an efficient accessibility for the patient and facilities specially conceived according to the specifics needs of EMS constitute a major progress, making now possible intubations during the flight. GROUPE SAF is today the first world’s owner of this kind of helicopters.

Thanks to its staff’s abilities and motivation combined with a rigorous follow-up of material and the efficiency of its leading providers, HELICAP had become today a reference in the world of medical evacuation flights.

In April 2006, SAF HOLDING gathers HELICAP and SAF HELICOPTERES. The new GROUPE SAF is a natural work meeting of two men which have imagine what the futures medical transports’ needs were. At the end of the seventies, Roland FRAISSINET and Jean CAPOULADE were sharing already the same vision and envisaged the transport’s possibilities of patients or injured people. They imagined already the lives that could be saved thanks to this magic tool, the helicopter. Their respective tastes and affinities directed one towards the plain’s EMS with HELICAP and the other towards the mountain rescue with SECOURS AERIEN FRANCAIS which became SAF HELICOPTERES. Each one of those two pioneers created around them a collaborator’s team sharing the same values of safety, reliability and adaptability.

Nowadays, the GROUP SAF constituted of a fleet of 35 helicopters including 20 twin engines, has became a major medical transport contributor in Europe. The teams gathered, legitimately attached to their roots; find a common motivation to guarantee a high quality service and safety. Bringing together two strong expertises permitted a major advance towards a better take care of patients.