This story is part of AIN's continuing coverage of the impact of the coronavirus on aviation.
Toronto-based brokerage Aero Asset has seen preowned twin-engine rotorcraft sales slide throughout the market with 14 total retail sales and $34 million in transactions in the second quarter. Sales were down 58 percent and transaction value was off 78 percent from the same period in 2019, the firm reported today.
"Retail sales volume dropped a startling 60 percent from what was still a positive market in the first quarter," said Aero Asset sales director Emmanuel Dupuy. "We were starting to see the market soften towards the end of the first quarter, and clearly that trend amplified."
A drop in crude-oil prices and the Covid-19-induced economic slump are driving the drop in the rotor-wing market, Aero Asset said, adding that it continues to see volatility. The preowned supply remained relatively stable but the overall absorption rate—how long an aircraft is on the market—jumped 150 percent from a year ago, to four years. Meanwhile, the number of deals in the pipeline is down 40 percent from a year ago.
Quarter-over-quarter, the lightweight twin-engine preowned market supply decreased 10 percent but sales dropped 40 percent. The medium helicopter supply also fell 20 percent while retail sales plummeted 80 percent in the same period. No heavyweight twin engines were sold, but the available aircraft inventory jumped by 30 percent in the second quarter.
