Helicopter Fleet Report YE 2023

REGIONAL OVERVIEW
With 984 helicopters as of December 31 2023,
Australia had the biggest helicopter fleet in Asia-
Pacific. It was followed closely by mainland China,
Japan, New Zealand and India, which had 707, 679,
577 and 263 helicopters, respectively. The combined
fleet numbers of these countries account for 78% of
the entire regional fleet.
In 2023, Australia saw the most additions to its
fleet, with 20 helicopters added. Papua New Guinea,
Japan and New Zealand followed with six additional
helicopters each. South Korea added the fourth-most
helicopters to its fleet, solidifying its position as the
region’s sixth-largest helicopter fleet since our records
began in 2014.
At first glance, both China and the Philippines appear to
have experienced a noticeable reduction in the number
of helicopters in their fleets. However, the actual
situation is more nuanced. In the case of China, the
decrease in helicopter numbers is partially attributed
to a change in registration for approximately ten police
helicopters. These helicopters transitioned from their
original civilian registration, which typically starts with
“B-,” to wearing military registrations. According to our
definition, these helicopters are no longer considered
part of the civilian category, so they are not counted
in our fleet numbers. However, they continue to be
operational in China. For a more comprehensive
understanding of China’s fleet situation, please see
our China Market Report on page 21. Additionally, the
delivery of new aircraft to the Chinese market and the
introduction of used aircraft have significantly slowed
down, with the numbers decreasing from 22 and 12 in
2022 to seven and six in 2023, respectively.
The changes in the Philippines are mainly due to the
use of more official and reliable sources of information
since 2022, which led to the exclusion of certain
helicopters that were previously inactive. This means
that the Philippine market has not undergone any
significant changes when compared to previous years.
Within the sub-regional markets, Oceania maintained
its position as the leader in fleet growth, seeing the
addition of an impressive 31 aircraft in 2023, resulting
in an annual growth rate of 1.9%. While this growth
is slightly lower than the 2.4% recorded in 2022 when
Oceania added 39 aircraft, it still signifies a robust
expansion in the region’s fleet.
In East Asia, fleet growth remained relatively stable,
showing nominal changes. Southeast Asia and South
Asia both saw declines. The fleet in Southeast Asia
decreased by five aircraft, representing decline of 1.4%.
Similarly, South Asia saw a reduction of 11 aircraft, a
negative growth rate of 2.2%.
HELICOPTER FLEET 2 (TURBINE ONLY)
LARGEST MARKET
984
AUSTRALIA
MOST NET FLEET
ADDITIONS
+20
AUSTRALIA
FLEET GROWTH IN MAJOR MARKETS
Net Fleet Growth
Growth Rate
SUBREGION 4 2022 2023 2022 2023
Oceania +39 +31 2.4% 1.9%
South Asia +5 -5 1.4% -1.4%
Southeast Asia +1 -11 0.2% -2.2%
Greater China +24 -21 3.3% -2.8%
TOTAL +66 +4 1.6% 0.1%
Net Fleet Growth
MOST NET FLEET
DEDUCTIONS
-19
MAINLAND CHINA
Growth Rate
COUNTRY/REGION 2022 2023 2022 2023
Australia +39 +20 4.0% 2.0%
Papua New Guinea -5 +6 -6.3% 7.0%
Japan -1 +6 -0.1% 0.9%
New Zealand +3 +6 0.5% 1.0%
Indonesia -8 +5 -4.9% 3.0%
South Korea -3 +3 -1.5% 1.5%
Malaysia -5 +2 -4.1% 1.6%
Vietnam +1 0 3.6% 0.0%
Bangladesh 0 0 0.0% 0.0%
Hong Kong 0 0 0.0% 0.0%
India +10 -1 3.8% -0.4%
Thailand 0 -1 0.0% -3.4%
Nepal -1 -3 -2.7% -8.8%
Philippines +21 -10 17.8% -9.3%
Mainland China +25 -19 3.4% -2.7%
Others -10 -10 -9.2% -10.1%
TOTAL +66 +4 1.6% 0.1%
RANKED BY 2023 NET FLEET GROWTH IN DESCENDING ORDER FROM THE HIGHEST.
YE 2023 ASIA-PACIFIC CIVIL HELICOPTER FLEET REPORT | 7