Leonardo and Rotortrade are to extend their long-established partnership in the global pre-owned civil helicopter market, renewing the 2013 distributor agreement that made Rotortrade the sole international distributor of Leonardo's pre-owned helicopters.

The collaboration has led to the sale of around 80 helicopters of various models across the global civil market, with proven growth since that time. This collaboration has allowed Leonardo to penetrate new markets and establish a joint sale network leveraging mutual expertise and support.

Leonardo SVP sales Stefano Villanti says: “By renewing this collaboration, together with Rotortrade we will be able to pursue new opportunities while delivering the best solutions for those who seek for an ideal combination of affordability, capability and serviceability. We look forward to continuing to meet the evolving requirements in a market that complements the one for new helicopters.”

Capitalising on this success, Rotortrade is able to offer the aircraft models produced by Leonardo with a manufacturer's quality and support standard, translating into a reliable and cost/effective service.

"We created Rotortrade to offer a comprehensive pre-owned helicopter solution for the benefit of our customers," adds president Philippe Lubrano. "With the full support of Leonardo, Rotortrade provides higher value to the market with programmes such as the Leonardo Certified Pre-Owned helicopter offering. We believe that our success has been built by our client satisfaction throughout the 11 branches we operate from. With the strong boost of our new shareholders, we expect 2022 to be our best year ever."

The Singapore-headquartered company has posted record results for 2021 of 37 bookings and deliveries, and says it can clearly see the results of its pursued efforts and investments even during the peak of the pandemic. Sales were well balanced within its three regions: Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe. Roughly 40 per cent of transactions took place between regions, 40 per cent within the same region and 20 per cent domestically. Helicopters were well spread across makes, types, missions and weight classes with a particular concentration of light to medium twin helicopters for corporate/VIP and firefighting missions.

“It was a strong and successful year for Rotortrade," says Lubrano. "Our 2021 performance reflects continued strength across all of our regions despite the challenges. I am particularly proud of our team who have managed to stay fully focused on supporting our customers and continue to look ahead. Given our strong results, financial profile and development plans, Rotortrade is well positioned for success in 2022 and beyond.”