Asian Pacific Region Civil Helicopters Asian Sky Fleet Report Year End 2016

SPECIAL FEATURE: LEASING MARKET
Leased Fleet by Size Category
Light Twin 19 (11%)
Single 41 (24%)
52+26+11+10+1+G
Heavy 19 (11%) Super Medium 1
174
Medium 94 (54%)
was seen by them as a method to gain market share and
strategic position within a particular country; and it was not
uncommon to see exclusive ‘wet lease’ partnerships between
global and local operators in major Asian oil producing
countries like China, Malaysia and Thailand providing OGP
helicopter services.
operators no longer saw the same strategic benefits or
growth opportunities as before, leading to a new relationship
dynamic with regional operators that revolved more
around traditional ‘operating lease’ factors such as pricing,
contractual terms, credit quality and country risk.
Starting in late 2010 and continuing over the following years,
a new group of companies focused on helicopter leasing
emerged to provide these ‘dry leases’ directly. These lessors
initially provided ‘sale-leaseback’ services to the large global
operators as a way to help them manage their balance
sheets. As their own order-books increased, along with their
scale, lessors quickly began to lease helicopters directly to
OGP operators in developing countries, where they were
more willing to take on country and credit risk. Today, they
have largely supplanted the global operators as the main
providers of ‘dry-leased’ helicopters in Asia Pacific.
The largest of these lessors are Milestone Aviation, Waypoint
Leasing, Lease Corporation International (LCI) and Lobo
Leasing. They joined previously established, though primarily
specialty lessors like Eagle Copters, which had long been
active in India, and banks in Australian and New Zealand, who
Leased Fleet by Mission
Fleet Size
Replacement Cost (USD Billions)
Corporate 4 (2%)
SAR 3 (2%)
Charter 5 (3%)
EMS 29 (17%)
Multi-Mission 62 (35%)
39+36+17+3+2+2+1+G
Private 2 (1%)
174
55+25+15+2+1+1+1+G
SAR (1%)
Corporate (1%)
Offshore 69 (40%)
Charter (2%)
EMS (15%)
Multi-Mission (25%)
$2.1
Private (1%)
Offshore (55%)
By the second half of the 2000s, certain regional operators
with established operations became more interested
in the ‘dry lease’ structure, preferring to use their own
locally sourced pilots and engineers. While some initial
support may have been required, these operators took a
view toward developing their own capabilities and sought
a structure without overarching obligations of a ‘wet lease’
or joint venture.
As more local operators developed their infrastructure and
the associated need for wet leases receded, some global
have long established leasing and lending businesses in their
local markets. More recently, a number of Asia-based lessors,
primarily in China, have arrived to better serve the growing
regional market.
While initially focused almost exclusively on heavy and
medium twin OGP helicopters, the length and severity
of the current downturn has encouraged lessors to
consider providing ‘dry-leases’ for other types of aircraft
and operations.
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ASIA PACIFIC REGION CIVIL HELICOPTER FLEET REPORT – YEAR END 2016