Pity the poor old heavy helicopter. She spends years in storage during the downturn in the offshore energy sector. Then, when oil and gas markets finally start to pick up, the heavy helicopter risks finding herself edged out but the younger and more glamorous super-medium and medium helicopters. But reports of her demise would be far overstated, according to industry insiders consulted by Helicopter Investor.
Airbus Helicopters and PHI Group (PHI) have signed a framework agreement that includes commitments for 20 super-medium H175 helicopters and 8 H160s to serve the energy market worldwide, including in the US. These 28 state-of-the-art helicopters will better position PHI to respond to the energy market’s expected growing offshore transportation needs.
Founded in Morocco and then finding great success off the coast of Senegal, Heliconia has shown itself to be a resilient operator, adept at navigating the complex West African offshore market.
Two new Sikorsky S-92A helicopters have been delivered to Mount Pleasant Complex (MPC), the headquarters of British Forces South Atlantic Islands (BFSAI).
It is with great excitement that International Aviation Marketing Ltd. announces the addition of Steffen Bay to expand their South American Sales sector.
The Airbus Helicopters H160 has finally received certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), paving the way for the medium-lift aircraft to begin operations in the United States.
June 2023 marked a major landmark in the history of US offshore wind as the first two commercial-scale projects, South Fork and Vineyard saw construction commence with the first foundation installations.
New Bell CEO Lisa Atherton said the company is seeing the strongest levels of demand in the civil helicopter market for 15 years, with the manufacturer “virtually sold out” through the rest of this year in almost all models.
Optima Aero, a global leader specializing in the supply of refurbished helicopter parts and engines, has entered into an agreement with Uniflight Global LLC to buy its assets located in Grand Prairie, Texas. The creation of Optima Aero USA aligns with the growth strategy of the Canadian company, aiming to accelerate its international expansion.
Bristow’s Irish subsidiary has been selected as the preferred bidder for the next Irish Coast Guard search-and-rescue (SAR) contract, estimated to be worth €670 million (US$715 million).
The offshore energy services market is “in the early innings of a multi-year growth cycle,” according to Bristow president and CEO Chris Bradshaw — but he cautioned that this won’t be reflected in a glut of new aircraft orders in the short term.
RotorLink Technical Services Inc, a leader in the aerospace industry, announced today that it has relocated to a new facility at The Langley Regional Airport. The move will enable the company to further expand its operations.
How the UH-60 Black Hawk, CH-47 Chinook and AS332 Super Puma are performing in firefighting and utility operations — and reshaping the market in the process.
Following the company’s successful attendance at Heli-Expo 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia (March 7 to 9), Leonardo is announcing further growth within the commercial helicopter market, with new orders for nearly 40 aircraft of various models to several operators across Middle East, Asia, Americas and Europe primarily for energy support, rescue and public service duties, and VIP transport operations.
Demand for aircraft is up substantially and only a small handful of un-contracted aircraft remain. Supply chains are stretched and long lead-times are being quoted on critical parts. The ability of the industry to keep enough serviceable aircraft active to meet demand is now in question.
Leonardo has announced further growth in presence of the AW139 intermediate twin
engine helicopter in Australia at Avalon, with orders for a total of six aircraft by three different prime operators: Babcock Australasia (Babcock), RACQ CQ Rescue (CQ Rescue) and StarFlight Australia.
Bell is developing militarized versions of its civil helicopter line to bring a low-cost defensive rotary-wing capability to market, with the main target being countries that may have previously flown Russian-built airframes.
Bell is targeting type certification of its long-awaited super medium 525 Relentless this year, as it says it is working on the “last few percent” of the approval program with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
CHC Helicopter Group (CHC) announced the agreed sale of Offshore Helicopter Services UK (OHS UK) to Ultimate Aviation Group, a South African headquartered international aviation business.
As the festive season fades and we enter a new year it’s an ideal time to reflect on the year gone by and wonder what might be to come in the year ahead.
Leonardo announced today that Bristow Group Inc. (NYSE: VTOL) has signed a contract to procure six AW139 intermediate twin-engine helicopters to support the Second-Generation Search and Rescue Aviation (“UKSAR2G”) program by the U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
How the market may shift between Russian and Western manufactured helicopters has now been in question for an extended period of time. When conflict in the Ukraine first began and embargoes came down on Russia, we initially thought the impact on the helicopter industry to be immediate due to operators and foreign militaries seeking Western machines as a solution. However, this was not the case.
The latest census of active offshore crew transfer helicopters in the heavy & super-medium segment shows a substantial recovery in active aircraft and number of flights flown.
The CHC must unwind its completed acquisition of Babcock’s oil-and-gas offshore helicopter services to address competition concerns. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) decision follows an in-depth Phase 2 investigation into the deal.
A lack of real prices is one of the biggest frustrations voiced by visitors. In our instant gratification, need-details-now society, people want to know the price. In fact, listings with prices see more than three times the traffic, seeming to suggest increased interest. Or does it?
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. a leading launch and space systems company, has announced that during its next Electron launch, a commercial rideshare mission currently scheduled in April 2022, the company will attempt a mid-air helicopter capture of the Electron launch vehicle for the first time.
Sikorsky will no longer be taking orders for the S-76D following a period of low demand and high production costs that the manufacturer said made the type hard to build and deliver profitably.
Petroleum Helicopters International and Shell have released more details of the innovative “route proving” program they will begin with Airbus later this year to launch the H160 in the U.S.
The offshore helicopter industry has endured a long and highly publicized downturn, but with a consolidated playing field and rising oil prices, is it finally set for a re-emergence?
The Milestone Aviation Group Limited (“Milestone”), the global leader in helicopter leasing, has partnered with Australian firefighting equipment designer, Helitak Firefighting Equipment Pty Ltd (“Helitak”), to develop a new mission for the Sikorsky S-92A as a next-generation, multi-purpose fire-fighting platform.
Helicopters are really cool! Given you are reading this article, I think that we can all agree on that. They are amazing machines that can perform everything from critical missions a hundred miles offshore to leisure trips to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. But where do you start shopping?
When we first wrote about how Covid-19 was impacting the helicopter industry 6 months ago, we anticipated that there would be numerous bankruptcies. While the bankruptcies or full-blown bank repossessions have not materialized, we have seen more mergers, restructuring, business model modifications, and voluntary exits from players in the space...
International Aviation Marketing (IAM), a global leader in aircraft sales, has announced the addition of Guillaume Guehenneux as Commercial Director to their Sales and Business Development team for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region... Read more
Our very own Director & Founder of International Aviation Marketing, Brad Shaen was recently asked to provide his opinion in the latest Vertical Magazine feature covering the pre-owned helicopter market.
The ultimate objective in any aircraft disposal is the outright sale of a helicopter for cash. To make that happen, the buyer either has to have the capital themselves or have access to that capital through a lending facility. Needless to say, a helicopter is a highly capital intensive purchase and therefore self-funded cash buyers are hard to find...
We are now three weeks into the fourth quarter, which means there are few days left in 2020 to take advantage of some extremely significant tax breaks in the United States for purchasing an aircraft.
Air & Sea Analytics recently interviewed Director & Founder of International Aviation Marketing, Brad Shaen. They discussed the challenges that need to be overcome when doing business during the Covid-19 pandemic, the current state of the offshore helicopter business, Sikorsky S-92 helicopter resales & valuation, and the long-term resiliency of the helicopter market.
It goes without saying that the global coronavirus pandemic has and will continue to impact almost every aspect of every industry around the world. This is an extremely challenging time for everyone, especially for banks working with helicopter assets. There is so much uncertainty, so many questions, and (perhaps counter-intuitively) so many options...
As someone who does business in the offshore helicopter sector, it is no surprise that the oil price crash is a particularly concerning development that I've been carefully monitoring.
Reducing COVID-19 related risk through proactive or distressed aircraft sales ➤ If you are in a position where you need to generate cash from a helicopter sale, we have buyers with funding available to acquire assets quickly. We can help you value your asset and evaluate other options, such as sale leaseback.
As the Coronavirus outbreak continues to wreak havoc on the world, the impact of this global pandemic on the helicopter industry has been on the top of my mind. Sharing my thoughts on how COVID-19 will affect helicopter transactions both short- and long-term.
