Helicopter market 'healthy' despite uncertainties

An estimated 4,000 new civilian-use helicopters will be delivered from 2019 to 2023, scaled back from the 4,200 helicopters the five-year forecast from 2018 called for, according to Honeywell’s twenty-first annual Turbine-Powered Civil Helicopter Purchase Outlook.

According to the study—a “snapshot” based on surveying 1,000 company chief pilots and flight department managers—North America, home to 40 percent of the world’s helicopter fleet, showed the brightest prospects, with 18 percent of respondents pondering purchases. The region consisting of the Middle East and Africa was next best, at 15 percent.

In Europe, purchase plans were seen declining, with 15 percent of respondents planning to replace or expand their fleet, down from 22 percent a year ago. The low sample size from Russia added uncertainty to the estimates, Honeywell said.

In the Asia-Pacific region, purchase plans for the period were five percent lower than in 2018.

In Latin America, results for 2019 showed “significantly lower fleet replacement and growth expectations compared with 2018. Purchase plans are well below the global average of 15 percent, and the region’s purchase plans decreased by 26 percentage points from last year,” the study said.

“Despite positive impacts of U.S. tax reform on new helicopter purchase plans in North America, an inconsistent economic outlook for international markets has resulted in lower purchase plans worldwide from fleet managers when compared with a year ago,” said Heath Patrick, president of Americas Aftermarket, Honeywell Aerospace. “Honeywell remains focused on bringing innovation to the market by delivering avionics, monitoring systems and Connected Helicopter technologies that boost a platform’s efficiency and availability.”

In other findings:

• Approximately 20 percent of survey respondents in North America expected helicopter fleet utilization to increase over the next 12 months. Globally, the rate was 14 percent.
• Purchase plans were stronger from law enforcement and oil and gas operators and weaker from corporate operators.
• More planned new helicopter purchases targeted intermediate/medium twin-engine models compared with 2018, fewer were planned with light twin-engine helicopters in mind. Light single-engine and heavy twin-engine helicopter purchases hovered at last year’s level.
• Key factors operators said they considered for a purchase were brand experience, aircraft performance, and cabin size.

“Despite respondents having a slightly less positive view of the global economic outlook in this year’s survey compared with 2018, new helicopter platforms will support an expected 3 to 4 percent annual growth rate in overall deliveries. The predicted increase in deliveries signals an overall healthy helicopter market poised for moderate growth,” the report said.