Brazil generally, and São Paulo in particular, have long represented a true hotspot in the global rotorcraft market. Demand may have cooled of late but that hasn’t deterred Bell Helicopter from bringing a trio of its latest models to the LABACE show. On show at Congonhas Airport this week are a VIP-configured Bell 429, the latest 407GXP model and a mockup of the new 505 single.
Speaking to AIN last week just after signing another 429 contract with an undisclosed Brazilian customer, Jay Ortiz, Bell’s vice president for Latin American sales, indicated that the local market may now be in recovery mode. “Relative to years past, the market is down but we are getting success with what [business] there is and we are seeing signs that the market is coming back,” he stated. “We’ve seen sales activity picking up in the last month. We normally see an uptick at this time of year. There has been concern about the state of the economy but the concerns were not well founded.”
That said, Ortiz did acknowledge the demand-suppressing effect of the continued weak oil price and the resulting reduction in offshore exploration and production activity. At the same time, plans for government investment in new helicopter has also slowed but, according to Bell, has merely been delayed, rather than cancelled. “The VIP market continues to be robust and in some cases people are looking to upgrade their aircraft,” he said.
For Textron subsidiary Bell, Argentina has been a bright spot in the continent since the country’s December 2015 election that brought what is widely acknowledged to be a more business-friendly government to power. One specific factor here have been regulatory changes making it easier to move U.S. dollar currency out of the country and relaxation of rules governing the importation of aircraft.
Ahead of the 2016 LABACE show, Bell embarked on Latin American demonstration tours for both the 429 and the 407GXP. In the case of the later aircraft, which boasts increased speed and performance compared with the earlier mode, it did not make it past one of the first stops in Guatemala because a customer insisted on buying it. The 429 has been to Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Equador, Panama, Guatemala, Honduras and Puerto Rico. According to Ortiz, the new 505 model is already backed by some 80 orders in Latin America alone.
A new customer support facility is now under construction in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires. This will be operated by local authorized maintenance provider Rotorway.