Rotortrade CEO Bullish on Helicopter Market Shift

Philippe Lubrano, CEO of global helicopter sales and support provider Rotortrade, said the rotorcraft market has shifted from a buyer’s market to a seller’s market as the industry moves toward the second half of the year. “I don’t see any slowdown in this industry for the next three to five years,” he predicted. “Everybody wants more choppers.”

Emergency aeromedical transport remains a dominant factor in the rotorcraft ecosystem, according to Lubrano. “Definitely, the EMS sector is a growing sector,” he said. “We’re doing a number of EMS completions on preowned aircraft to satisfy our clients, and I think the EMS sector is going to see more and larger aircraft coming in.”

In an assessment of the first-half helicopter market conditions, Lubrano noted that long lead times among the OEMs have added months, if not years, to delivery times on the most popular models. This, he said, is putting pressure on the young, used market inventory at a time when many in-service helicopters are nearing their replacement cycles.

He explained that since production lines for military and civil helicopters are often comingled, increasing demand from the former is also affecting OEM order books. Conflicts such as the Iran war may affect investment strategies, with some potential owners opting for short-term leases instead of ownership of newer helicopters like the Airbus H160 medium twin.

“We can give the opportunity to any client to try them, so short-term lease, two, three years becomes a possibility on that type, so the client can really assess the aircraft and see if they want to move on with the acquisition,” Lubrano said.

Another factor going forward in the year is the start of fire season in the U.S. and Europe, with many aircraft occupied with firefighting contracts. Rotorcraft dealers and completions houses are gearing up for that.