There were 1,364 pre-owned helicopters available for sale at the end of August, which equates to 6 percent of the installed base and 1 percent lower than in July, according to data released last week by UBS Global Research. This inventory is “roughly in line with recent historical average,” it said.
Inventories of young pre-owned helicopters—those zero to 10 years old—are even lower, at 5 percent of the in-service fleet, marking a 3-percent decrease from July. However, this is still about 44 percent above the mid-2011 trough for young helicopter inventory and just 4 percent below the 2009 peak.
By manufacturer, UBS said that both Leonardo and Sikorsky have the largest percentage of their in-service fleets (all ages) available for sale at 8 percent. UBS said that pre-owned inventory of rotorcraft from MD Helicopters, Airbus Helicopters and Bell Helicopter are at 6 percent of in-service fleets— in line with the overall average for all helicopters.
According to UBS, approximately 6 percent of the 12,824-strong single-engine fleet was listed for sale at the end of August, compared with 7 percent of the light twin fleet (4,144 in service), 7 percent of the intermediate/medium fleet (3,913 in service) and 2 percent of the large fleet (626 in service). By weight class, pricing for single-engine helicopters rose 2 percent; light twin pricing dropped 31 percent; and intermediate/medium pricing plunged 45 percent.
The analyst firm estimates that the average age of available pre-owned helicopter inventory is 20 years, a year older than the installed fleet. By manufacturer, Bell’s available inventory and in-service fleet are the oldest at 27 and 26 years, respectively, while Leonardo’s available inventory and in-service fleet are the youngest at 15 and nine years, respectively.
Airbus has more than 160 young helicopters available for sale, the most of any manufacturer, while Leonardo’s inventory contains the greatest proportion of young aircraft, with 40 percent of its for-sale inventory falling in this category.