Details of Aero Asset’s Q3 2021 Heli Market Trends were released on Oct. 18, indicating a decrease in supply of preowned twin-engine helicopters and stable retail transaction volume year over year. Aero Asset is a Toronto-based helicopter trading firm.
For the first time, Heli Market Trends publishes worldwide flight data, tracking helicopters equipped with ADS-B transponders. The report also publishes market data of twin-engine preowned helicopter models in production and variants with recent preowned sales activity, including all configurations (VIP, EMS, OGP, etc.).
“Year to date retail sales were stable compared to the same period in 2020,” said Valerie Pereira, Vice President of Market Research, Aero Asset. “In the last quarter, many aircraft for sale were removed from market and returned to service, translating into a 24 per cent reduction of supply for sale year over year, to 196 units at the end of Q3.”
So far in 2021, Aero Asset notes 98 preowned twin-engine helicopters were sold to retail buyers on and off market, totaling $263 million. This dollar sales volume was down 26 per cent year over year, which the company explains to be a result mainly because of a significant decrease in heavy retail sales activity over same period.
VIP configured twin helicopter sales volume rose eight per cent in the third quarter of 2021, explains Aero Asset, and was the best performing market segment year to date. North America was the best performing region year to date, accounting for a third of all retail transactions.
Liquidity Lineup
The best performing preowned twin-engine helicopter market year to date is the Airbus EC/H145, according to Aero Asset’s report, followed by the Leonardo AW109S/SP and the Sikorsky S76C+/C++.
Deal Pipeline Cool Down
Aero Asset notes the number of deals pending at various stages of transaction declined 24 percent Q3 versus Q2 2021, but the number of deals pending Q3 remained 23 percent higher compared to the third quarter of 2020.
Market Performance by Weight Class
Year to date, light twin-engine retail sales volume increased five per cent versus the same period in 2020, according to Aero Asset, while medium twin retail sales were up 43 per cent. Heavy retail sales declined substantially over the same period, according to the report.
Flight Data
The number of worldwide helicopter flights experienced a sharp rebound in Q1 2021 and year to date. North America saw 256,126 helicopter flights Q3 2021, according to Aero Asset, a 36 per cent increase year over year. Europe saw 192,976 helicopter flights Q3, a 23 per cent increase year over year. South America saw the biggest increase in helicopter flights Q3 2021 reaching 22,048 flights, according to Aero Asset, a 155 per cent increase year over year.
