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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.

In the scope of both civil and military aviation, the global helicopter market is set to maintain the tenacious growth it has been experiencing for the past several years. A recent report by Frost & Sullivan says the global helicopter market is expected to reach a market size of nearly 24 000 platforms by 2020. The key factors contributing to such industry growth were upcoming replacement cycles in worldwide military fleets, especially in the emerging markets. Nevertheless, while both the manufacturers and the operators are surely excited with the upcoming fleet renewal, should the MROs be cheering as well?

The global market of light helicopters remains on a steady growth path. One of the largest aircraft manufacturers Robinson Helicopter Company has reported producing over 5500 R44’s to date with a rising number of orders coming from overseas. As the demand keeps growing, naturally one may wonder what makes light helicopters so attractive to an increasing number of industry players.