Transactions of preowned single- and multi-engine turbine helicopters surpassed 2019 and 2020 levels last year, with singles seeing more consistent year-over-year improvements and multi-engine aircraft experiencing upward pricing, according to industry data analyst Amstat.
In its report on the turbine helicopter market released Tuesday, Amstat said preowned single-engine transactions in 2021 beat the 2020 activity by 25 percent and 2019 by 30 percent. Last year, transactions in this segment were up year-over-year in every month except January. Newer helicopter turbine singles—those younger than 10 years—by far outpaced their older counterparts, showing a 70 percent leap in transactional growth.
Preowned multi-engine turbine helicopters, meanwhile, enjoyed a 27 percent bounce last year over 2020 transactions and 12 percent over 2019. Amstat, however, noted that the monthly transaction performance was more up and down and activity in the fourth quarter was actually down year-over-year by 11 percent. Middle-aged helicopters (11-20 years) saw the greatest growth, up 48 percent from 2020.
Available turbine-single helicopter inventories peaked in early 2021 and have been shrinking since, with availability down across all segments. The newer segment is down 47 percent year-over-year. Multi-engine inventories have continued their downward slope, maintaining a trend that began in 2016. Inventories are down across all age segments, with newer available helicopters 33 percent lower year-over-year.
Pricing has been uneven, peaking in early 2021 for single-engine helicopters but since falling to a 5 percent year-over-year drop, Amstat said. Conversely, multis have enjoyed a 15 percent year-over-year increase.