Singapore-headquartered helicopter distributor Rotortrade Services is opening an office in Melbourne, Australia, to cover the Oceania market. With foundations in Singapore and Malaysia and established offices in Canada, France, Mexico and the US, Rotortrade ANZ will focus on Oceania customers and will work hand-in-hand with local partners and OEMs.

Australia and New Zealand jointly represent the third-biggest civil helicopter fleet in the world. According to the Australian Helicopter Industry Association, Australia has more than 2,150 helicopters, ranging from single piston engine light VFR aircraft to twin engine IFR machines designed for night and all-weather SAR and offshore operations, and employs more than 3,500 pilots plus at least 2,600 engineers.

New Zealand has one of the highest densities of rotorcraft per capita with more than 880 civil helicopters, according to the CAA NZ, for a population fewer than five million.

Positioned close to Asia, ANZ and its surrounding Pacific islands such as Fiji, New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea represent a very active helicopter market, making Rotortrade ANZ a natural evolution and a complement to Rotortrade's global footprint.

“The opening of our Melbourne office will allow us to provide much better local coverage to our customers and will strengthen current and future sales across the region,” says partner Aurelien Blanc. “The exciting decision to establish a presence in this region builds upon our strategic plans for continued growth and sustained demand for pre-owned helicopters across Australia and New Zealand. It also offers us more opportunities to sell out of the region, making use of excellent quality maintenance and operations.”

President Philippe Lubrano adds: “The local operators are among the best in the world, and establishing a local presence is an obvious choice for any serious player.”

Founded in 2012, Rotortrade is an independent helicopter dealer and sole global distributor of Leonardo's pre-owned helicopters. Its range of end-to-end services includes: pre-purchase inspections and evaluations, maintenance and retrofit management and OEM certified pre-owned warranty on selected airframes and engines.