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For some time now Indonesia has been known for having one of the fastest developing civil aviation markets in the world. In the meantime, compared to the airline industry, its rotorcraft segment wasn’t as lucky, growing at yearly average of merely 1% (acc. to Asian Sky Group). However, as Airbus Helicopters Indonesia is setting out plans to boost sales in the archipelago and AgustaWestland recently announcing a deal with the national search and rescue agency of the Republic of Indonesia, it seems that developments in the segment are finally taking a turn for the better. While this is definitely a positive sign, as the country’s rotorcraft fleet is starting to grow, so should its maintenance capabilities.

Latin America has long been a rather generous market for helicopter manufacturers and sellers. Moreover, in the upcoming several years the already healthy demand is expected to increase even further. However, while helicopter manufacturers from all over the world are doing their best to secure their slice of the rising pie, MRO providers are faced with the pressing need to find fast solutions in terms of maintaining the thriving regional rotorcraft fleet.

Part of the thriving Asia Pacific, Southeast Asia will remain home to the fastest growing civil rotorcraft fleet in the world this year. Its CAGR is expected to top 21 % and the region will account for 33 % of the global spending on military and 20 % on civil helicopters. Naturally, such a rapid expansion comes with a set of challenges. One of the major ones is related to fleet support, especially in remote areas of the region. Unfortunately, OEMs and independent MRO providers are yet to arrive at a unanimous decision with regard to the most effective solution to the problem. 

Based on the recent forecasts by Honeywell Aerospace, during 2014–2018 the civil rotorcraft market, currently worth around $7.4 billion will be supplemented with up to 5 500 civilian-use machines worldwide. In addition, what has conventionally been an industry focused on the industrialized nations of Europe and North America has begun to undergo a shift in its customer base, with the Asia-Pacific region expected to dominate expanding sales figures over the following years. For expanding and newly established helicopter operators, ensuring the effective long-term service of rotorcraft will require finding effective approaches to MRO support.