Story ID: 222WaypointBristowFINAL
Bristow To Lease Three AW139s From Waypoint
By: Charles Alcock
Caption: Waypoint Leasing says rates and terms are increasing.
Word Count: 586

Bristow Group (Booth 1827) is to lease three AgustaWestland AW139s from Waypoint Leasing in a deal to be announced at the Heli-Expo show this morning. Bristow is already using the medium twins fitted out in crew-change configuration for a long-term offshore support contract in Guyana.

In this instance, Bristow already owns the aircraft and will be selling them to Waypoint and then leasing them back. The operator had leased them from a U.S. bank but needed to revise that arrangement, as the original lessor could not allow it to operate the aircraft outside the U.S. since it was under a U.S.-based tax-driven lease. Bristow now operates a total of five helicopters under lease from Waypoint.

According to Waypoint CEO Ed Washecka, his company, which offers other types of leases too, is well placed to offer the flexibility that operators like Bristow require. He told AIN that lately lease terms have been increasing in duration and now average around five years. “Rents and rates are also going up, meaning higher lease costs, but better terms are still available for the best customers,” he commented.

Waypoint (Booth 10751) has a lease portfolio of more than 120 helicopters, collectively worth in excess of $1.5 billion. The fleet operates in 27 countries for 16 customers, including Bristow, which now will have five of its aircraft. Over the next five years, the leasing group is due to take delivery of more than 125 more aircraft (covered by a mix of firm orders and options) that are valued at around $1.7 billion.

According to Washecka, Waypoint is planning to have relatively modest deliveries of new aircraft over the next 18 to 24 months. There has been some adjustment in response to weakening demand from the offshore energy sector, and more of its leasing activity is now focused on emergency medical and parapublic operations.

In fact, Waypoint is increasing the delivery rate of the 10 Airbus H135s it has on order from three to four during 2016 in response to stronger demand from these others sectors. “We have the flexibility to anticipate slowdowns or changing situations for our customers and can move aircraft deliveries forward or back,” said Washecka. “We can be very creative and we understand what the operators are dealing with [in terms of fluctuating market conditions]. This is my fourth cycle in the oil-and-gas industry. We’ve been there before and understand what it’s like for operators when their customers say they don’t want their aircraft or expect a cut in rates.”

According to Washecka, difficult trading conditions in the offshore sector will not necessarily result in declining values for helicopter assets. “It depends on what assets you have, and there will be stronger demand for newer aircraft,” he told AIN. “There could be declining values for older equipment that has to find a new home. For instance, the value of AS332s [Super Pumas] could now decline and maybe these should have gone earlier but were kept in service when demand was tight.”

During the first quarter of 2016, Waypoint plans to open new regional offices in Australia and South Africa. In addition its Ireland headquarters, it already has offices in London, the U.S, Singapore and Brazil.

The company serves various industries, including the oil-and-gas sector, emergency medical services, search and rescue, firefighting and governmental support. It is backed by a group of some 25 investors and collectively has access to around $550 million in revolving credit.