The corporate helicopter market appears to have weathered the prolonged economic downturn fairly well, according to a report released by Rolls-Royce, despite an increase in scrutiny applied to corporate ‘perks.’ The company says the corporate helicopter continues to be acknowledged as a time-saving business tool given the long security- and scheduling-related delays associated with major airports.

Rolls-Royce recently released its annual ten-year forecast of worldwide turbine helicopter deliveries, which it carried out in collaboration with industry forecasting specialist the Teal Group.

During the 2004-2013 period, some 10,724 turbine helicopter deliveries are forecast worldwide (with an associated airframe value of $95.6 billion and an installed engine value of $8.8 billion). This figure represents three per cent growth over last year’s forecast.

Civil helicopter deliveries are projected to total 5,165 units during the next ten years, a near-identical figure to last year’s forecast. The associated value of this market is forecast to be $13.9 billion in airframes and $1.9 billion in installed engines.

This stability is reported to reflect the long-term health of the civil helicopter market, bolstered by paramilitary sales and the expectation of new product introduction towards the end of the decade.

Turbine singles (57 per cent of deliveries) and light twins (22 per cent) will dominate the market, says Rolls Royce, although the resurgent intermediate class of aircraft is also forecast to capture 17 per cent. Deliveries are expected to grow slowly over the period from a low of 480 units in 2004 to a peak of 531 at the end of the period.

A spokesman said: “Although marginally down from the volumes seen in 2002, turbine helicopter deliveries during 2003 remained robust in spite of the protracted economic downturn and global political instability.

“While an influx of funding for additional paramilitary rotorcraft has yet to appear, the heightened focus on domestic security has benefited existing airborne law enforcement fleets, through increased operational funding and fleet replenishment.”

According to the report, the tourism market has continued its two-year recovery, and the offshore market has remained stable, with some regional increases in flight activity.

Private and corporate helicopter demand is said to have remained firm during 2003, despite the continued burden of higher insurance premiums post-9/11, which have led to calls for tort reform.

The past decade witnessed the introduction of a plethora of new helicopter models, dominated by Eurocopter products including the EC 120, EC 130 B4, EC 135, EC 145, EC 155 and EC 225, in addition to Agusta’s A119 Koala/A109E, Bell’s 407/427/430 and MDHI’s MD 520/MD 600/Explorer.

The pace of new product introduction has slowed somewhat over the past year, with Eurocopter publicly declaring that its own focus will be on product upgrades rather than necessarily all-new designs.

One of the biggest surprises in the civil helicopter market during the past year, says Rolls Royce, has been the impressive order book accumulated by Sikorsky for its S-76C+ (59 firm orders and 57 options in the last 14 months), which has been driven by offshore and fleet operator demand.

The existing aircraft in this segment – the S-76C+, Bell’s 430 and Eurocopter’s AS 365/EC 155 – will face further competition this year with the introduction of the much-anticipated Bell/Agusta AB139, production

for which is reported to be sold out until 2006.

Sikorsky and Eurocopter are likely to respond to this development with further developments of the S-76 and EC 155, respectively.

Sikorsky is due to hand-over the keys to the first production example of its long-awaited S-92 Helibus at Heli-Expo.

The Bell/Agusta BA609 tilt rotor is scheduled to enter the marketplace in 2007 following a three-year certification programme.

The report claims the BA609 is likely to be priced substantially higher than equivalent-sized helicopters, and will rely on its ability to win time-focused customers from the fixed-wing corporate jet market to ensure success.

Although the airborne law enforcement (ALE) and paramilitary markets have received considerable attention following the increased focus on homeland security in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, there has yet to be any significant increase in the level of additional procurement funding, the initial focus of these efforts being the simplification of inter-agency responsibilities and coordination.

Despite concerns over the sustainability of increases in global medical-related expenditure, the EMS niche is currently enjoying positive growth through re-equipment and new service introductions. While the most noticeable activity in the EMS market has been the replacement of older twin-engined EMS aircraft such as the BK117 and BO 105 with the newer EC 135 and A109E, there has also been a concurrent spread of EMS services to smaller and rural communities through lower-cost single-engine EMS aircraft, the

report adds.