This week we are showcasing the average age of the fleets for the top 15 civil rotorcraft operators. We’ve used Cirium data to create a ridgeline plot visualisation, filtered as noted in the image footnote. This follows our Insight of 13 June about the retirement of older oil and gas crew change helicopters.

We commented in that Insight on the pros and cons of using of ‘arbitrary’ age limits for helicopter replacement. We can observe the impact of these limits on offshore-centric operators such as Bristow, CHC and PHI. These operators all have a mean fleet age below the top 15 average of 18.2 years.

However rotorcraft can undergo regular replacement and renewal of many parts, including key dynamic components such as gearboxes, rotor hubs and blades. Frequent maintenance supports their long, useful economic lives across primary, secondary and subsequent roles. This is evident in the fleet age distribution of some law enforcement fleets among the top 15 operators.

Like the fixed wing aviation industry, rotorcraft are increasingly utilising composite parts, which can create recycling problems at the end of their lifecycle – read more.

However, unlike fixed-wing aircraft, most rotorcraft do not have a set lifespan based on cycles or flying hours. With proper maintenance, they can be operational for many decades, somewhat alleviating the burden of recycling.

We hope that this analysis provides valuable insight into some of the factors that influence fleet management strategies and rotorcraft longevity.

If you would like access to bespoke analysis around the topics above, then please do contact us at the earliest opportunity.