2023 was a bumper year for H145 sales, with 186 orders.
Airbus Helicopters has announced its order figures for 2023, which reveal that the company received 410 new orders in 2023, equating to 393 net sales. Against these sales, the company delivered 346 helicopters, resulting in an overall backlog increase of 47.
According to Airbus Helicopters CEO Bruno Even, the 2023 values represent an increase of 10% compared with 2022, which “highlights stable growth despite the ongoing global context of inflation and geopolitical instability”.
Although happy with the year-on-year performance, Even reminded RotorHub International and the other participants in the annual orders conference call that sales are yet to recover to their 2019 pre-pandemic level. The Airbus CEO said this indicates further opportunities as soon as market conditions stabilise but cautioned that continued instability will continue to have an impact on orders, especially in the light-singles market where the cost and availability of finance are impacting order volume.
Breaking down the orders: Buoyed by the German military and French Gendarmerie, the company took orders for 186 H145s. Meanwhile, the singles family H125 and H130 posted 147 orders (108 and 39, respectively) and 29 orders for H135s were taken from the para-public and HEMS markets but increasingly for offshore wind support. In the mediums and super-mediums, there were 26 orders for H160s from VIP, O&G and Law Enforcement, significantly up on 2022 and an increase from 2022 values. There were 14 orders for H175s driven by growing demand from offshore support operators.
Outlook for 2024
Airbus CEO Bruno Even said that the prospects for the H225 Super Puma are excellent in global offshore support markets.
Looking ahead to the coming year, Even noted several milestones planned for the year, notably the first flight of the Racer high-speed demonstrator scheduled for the next few weeks and the first flight of the company’s eVTOL CityAirbus NextGen also planned for later in the year. Meanwhile, flight into known icing testing is continuing on the H175.
On the sales side, Even expects increasing interest for the H160, especially from the North American market, following that type’s certification by the FAA and Transport Canada last year. Meanwhile, the H175 is expected to benefit from increasing demand from the offshore sector, especially after FAA certification is secured.
Bullish on Super Puma demand
Following the certification of a new main gearbox design for the type, Even said that he is convinced that there is still a role for the aircraft to play in offshore support operations. “It’s true that in recent years, there have been no orders for H225s for offshore operations, but there haven’t been any for S-92s either. Now, as the market recovers in that sector and demand is increasing, there are supply chain problems with S-92s, and the market demands new aircraft.”
While much of that demand can be satisfied with super-mediums, Even contends that for longer-range operations, only a heavy helicopter will do, and that is an opportunity for H225s, pointing to the types used in a number of offshore markets, notably Brazil and Vietnam. “I’m convinced that the capability will be reflected in orders worldwide, although for the North Sea, it’s less likely.”
