Some manufacturers see 2017 as a year of consolidation; others regard it as a year of stability. No matter the perspective, it clearly was another challenging year for the commercial helicopter market. With oil and gas prices remaining stubbornly low, orders for more lucrative larger helicopters have remained stagnant.
Even as energy prices begin to edge up, albeit slowly, the increases seem unlikely to absorb the overcapacity in the market that has seen dozens of aircraft languish in storage.
Few if any orders have been placed for heavy aircraft for the oil and gas sector over the last two years. Instead the biggest market for these aircraft has been a resurgent defense sector; Airbus’ Super Puma family enjoyed a bumper year, thanks to several key government orders. Just a handful have made their way into the commercial market, largely to serve the para/public-service sector missions such as law enforcement and search and rescue.
- 2018 should see certification of Bell’s fly-by-wire Model 525
- Price-sensitive market killed off Airbus’ H120 and Bell’s LongRanger during 2017
The market has prompted Airbus to rethink the launch of its Super Puma replacement, the X6.
Sikorsky also, with only two commercial products in its lineup, is struggling to shift both the medium-twin S-76 and S-92 heavy models. Industry sources suggest just one S-92 was delivered during 2017, and Lockheed Martin Chief Financial Officer Bruce Tanner admits that the situation was bleak, stating the company is not expecting a large increase in commercial aircraft for 2018. “Frankly,” he told financial analysts, “we are looking pretty flat in 2019 as well.”
Instead, the energy industry now seems to favor newer super-medium aircraft such as the Airbus H175 and Leonardo AW189. Bell’s 525 will join this segment in 2019.
Waypoint Leasing, which analyzed the super-medium market late in 2017, concluded that this new segment of aircraft has delivered platforms that are more cost-effective than the heavier types such as the H225 and Sikorsky S-92, particularly on shorter-range, high-passenger-density flights.
Waypoint says it expects the super-mediums to sell well in the rebounding oil market.
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