Heli Market Trends 2022 Annual Single Engine Report by Toronto, Canada-based helicopter trading firm Aero Asset shows pre-owned helicopter sales were down 12 per cent compared to 2021. The report covers single engine pre-owned helicopter models in production and variants, with recent retail sales activity in all configurations.

There were 212 units sold during the year, 12 per cent lower than 2021. The dollar volume of those sales was $387 million, down 15 per cent from 2021.

“North American buyers accounted for nearly 60 per cent of all single engine transactions in 2022 while retail transactions in Europe fell 40 per cent year over year,” says VP market research Valerie Pereira. “Inventory for sale plummeted 40 per cent year over year, but rose in the fourth quarter and actually tripled in North America between the second and last quarters of 2022.”

The most liquid pre-owned market in 2022 was the Airbus AS350 B3/H125, followed by the Bell 407/GX/P/I and the Airbus EC130 B4/H130. All three markets boast just five months of supply at 2022 trade levels. The least liquid market, the Leonardo AW119, ranked last with a nonetheless strong absorption rate of 10 months.

VIP singles accounted for 60 per cent of all transactions in 2022 while the supply of helicopters configured for EMS remains at all time low. The supply of utility helicopters for sale dropped 30 per cent year over year.

The full Heli Market Trends report can be downloaded from the Aero Asset website. The report also contains a conversation with Joseph A Hawke, the founder and chairman of Uniflight Global, an integrated solution provider for mission-critical and other fleet operators.