New Dawn for US Offshore Wind
June 2023 marked a major landmark in the history of US offshore wind as the two first commercial-scale projects, South Fork and Vineyard saw construction commence with the first foundation installations.
The projects also saw the first dedicated offshore windfarm helicopter in operation in the USA.
We explore the outlook for the US offshore wind market and implications for rotorcraft
March 21st, 2023
Latest Fleet Census
As we prepare to publish our latest ‘Heavy & Super-Medium Fleet Census’ the summary of the data is clear. Demand for aircraft is up substantially and only a small handful of un-contracted aircraft remain. Supply chains are stretched and long lead-times are being quoted on critical parts.
The ability of the industry to keep enough serviceable aircraft active to meet demand is now in question.
This scenario has been developing over a period of years and it will take years to resolve. It will benefit some parts of the industry enormously and it will place huge strain on others. Significant price inflation is expected, some of which we have seen already.
January 2nd, 2023
Outlook for Offshore: 2023
As we enter the New Year, Air & Sea Analytics takes a look at key macro drivers, oil price forecasts and identifies over $50 billion in new offshore platform projects that could be sanctioned in 2023.
September 8th, 2022
S-92 Market Perspectives from Leon Silva
Leon Silva is Vice President Global Commercial and Military Systems at Lockheed Martin (LM). He has overall responsibility for the Sikorsky S-92 programme. Leon very kindly agreed to meet during the busy Farnborough International Airshow in 2022 to give us an update on the S-92 and speak on a number of topical issues.
The discussion included the current production line, enquiry flow, supply chain bottlenecks, timing on the A+ model and secondary market applications. With the evident strength of the military markets visible at Farnborough we also discussed the allocation of resources between civil and military and how the Black Hawk is positioned for the UK's New Medium Helicopter programme.
July 14th, 2022
Resurgence in Heavy & Super-Medium Offshore Helicopter Utilisation
The latest census of active offshore crew transfer helicopters in the heavy & super-medium segment shows a substantial recovery in active aircraft and number of flights flown. Analysis of activity for each helicopter operating in the offshore crew transfer fleet shows a net year-on-year improvement of 5% in the active fleet of aircraft.
Analysis of flight activity as of June 2022 shows that the overall weekly number of heavy & super-medium flights has recovered to in excess of pre-Covid (January 2020) levels with the H175 fleet seeing flight activity up over 50%.
April 6th, 2022
Offshore Rotorcraft - Time for Fleet Renewal?
Offshore crew transfer demand is expected to recover quickly in the oil and gas sector.
As demand recovers, is the industry ready with modern, safe and fit-for purpose solutions to accommodate growth? Is the wider energy industry really doing all it can in terms of maximising the safety of offshore personnel?
We take a look at fleet utilisation, spare capacity, and point to some potential areas for improvement in the offshore crew transfer industry.
September 15th, 2021
Offshore Windfarm Maintenance
The installed base of offshore windfarms continues to grow and windfarm projects are moving further from shore - by 2030 nearly half (48%) of the installed base of turbines will be more than 30km offshore, according to research from Air & Sea Analytics. Some 480 vessels are marketed for offshore wind support and in recent years, helicopters have found applications in this market also, with 30 currently active.
We take a look at 24hrs of vessel and helicopter activity in the Humberside area and consider the merits of helicopters vs vessels....
June 30th, 2021
S-92 Fleet Management
Operators and lessors are finding ways of satisfying the end-users need for cost efficiency through a number of fleet management strategies.
We explore the reasons for movements in the fleet and the different strategies pursued by some of the major operators.
May 20th, 2021
S-92 Fleet Census Q1 2021
The latest analysis of activity for each S-92 helicopter operating in the offshore crew transfer fleet shows 77% of the fleet were active as of the end of Q1, 2021. A total of eight aircraft were returned to lessors over Q3 and Q4 2020 and a further two were returned in Q1 2021. The active fleet are, in total, flying 10% fewer number of flights now vs January 2020. These are amongst the headline findings of the latest “S-92 Fleet Census” released today by research firm Air & Sea Analytics.
March 12th, 2021
CHC To Acquire Babcock’s Offshore Oil & Gas Aviation Business
CHC have a long history of making key acquisitions in the offshore oil and gas market, often during challenging times for the business or indeed the company itself. On Thursday 11th March 2021, CHC announced it would acquire Babcock’s Offshore Oil & Gas aviation business consisting of 29 active helicopters working in the UK, Denmark and Australia.
We take a look at what this means for Aberdeen (the world’s busiest heliport) and the wider market and speak to renowned industry stalwart Dr Clark McGinn who has decades of experience in helicopter financing with Royal Bank of Scotland, and was Managing Director for CHC Leasing and SVP of Sales at Waypoint.
February 5th, 2021
The Latest Perspective from NHV CEO Steffen Bay
Steffen Bay is the Chief Executive Officer of the NHV Group. He has 20 years of experience across the helicopter services value chain including appointments at OEMs, rotorcraft operators and lessors. He will be familiar to regular readers of this website for his straight-talking, honest insight. We were delighted to have the opportunity to catch up with him again over a video call on the 2nd February 2021.
In his typical 'tell it how it is' manner, Steffen speaks to the recent contract wins for NHV, the new MRO activities, moving two aircraft into Brazil, the latest generation aircraft and the commercial realities of offshore rotorcraft operations.
January 26th, 2021
Offshore Wind Rotorcraft
A new report from Air & Sea Analytics forecasts compound annual growth of 17% in the requirement for rotorcraft to support offshore wind operations with over $1 billion of additional aircraft required.
The fleet is forecast to expand from the current 27 aircraft to total 126 aircraft by 2030.
Air & Sea Analytics has today published a new report taking a ‘deep dive’ into the offshore wind rotorcraft business. The report is intended to provide the industry with a view of the current status and outlook for the offshore wind rotorcraft market. Offshore wind has become a major global industry with many multi-billion-dollar projects being constructed every year. As these projects become larger and further from shore rotorcraft have become a key part of the supply chain in construction and maintenance. Whilst OEMs have been quick to highlight the potential for the sector as a major new growth opportunity for rotorcraft, the industry has been somewhat opaque in recent years with little clarity on how many aircraft are currently servicing the industry (last year estimates from third parties ranged from 11-40 aircraft) and how many are required in the future.
The purpose of this new report is to explain the drivers of demand for this important sector, build a forecast of future activity based on a granular project by project analysis and translate this to demand for rotorcraft.
Happy New Year!
With our first full calendar year in business complete we pause to have a bit of cake and consider what lies ahead in 2021 for the energy business with an extract from our upcoming ‘Offshore Wind Rotorcraft’ report.
Thank you to everyone that has supported us over the last year. We are very grateful and looking forward to working with you all in 2021.
December 23rd, 2020
Airbus H175 - Six Years On
Some 43 Airbus H175s are now in operation with the main application being oil & gas crew transfer. We take a look at the evolution of the fleet and speak to NHV Aberdeen Base Manager Jamie John to hear his insight on H175 operations
December 14th, 2020
Setting A New Baseline for Offshore Flying
This week we are delighted to share an interview with Tony Cramp, Chairman of IOGP’s Aviation Committee and Vice President of Shell Aircraft about the recently issued IOGP Report 690 on Offshore Helicopter Recommended Practices.
Tony explains five key areas where R690 is setting a new baseline for offshore flying.
December 7, 2020
Aircraft Appraisal & Coping with Covid-19
The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the business of rotorcraft appraisal in a number of ways. We spoke to David Crick, International Vice President on the American Society Of Appraisers (ASA) International Board of Governors and Managing Director of DavAir Group to hear his thoughts and experience on dealing with Covid-19 in 2020 and his expectations for the future.
November 12th, 2020
Positive Market Indicators for the Rotorcraft Business
Over-exuberance in an up-cycle is common and can be expensive. How many times have we heard phrases such as “this time it’s different” or “we are entering a super-cycle” … decision making at that point is clearly difficult and the cost of getting it wrong potentially very high.
The reverse also applies. In a protracted downturn companies may become focused on having to “fire-fight” numerous micro issues at a business level ranging from cash-flow to staffing (or even managing the impact of a major pandemic.) Losing sight of the macro picture is easy to do and furthermore it can become easy to miss key inflection points and to think that business “will never recover.”
We think we are at a key inflection point in this crisis.
The macroeconomic data, news flow, and flight data are all turning in favour of a demand-side recovery.
October 27th, 2020
Con Barber - Macquarie Rotorcraft Leasing
This week we are delighted to speak with Con Barber, Chief Investment Officer of Macquarie Rotorcraft. Con has more than twenty years experience in the aviation sector, filling a wide variety of technical, project management and strategic management roles. Con offers his perspective on the competitiveness and longevity of the S-92, asset valuation and the longer-term potential for rotorcraft in offshore markets.
August 27, 2020
Aircraft Brokering - Rotorcraft Market Insight from Brad Shaen
The next in our series of interviews is a discussion with Brad Shaen - Director and Founder of International Aviation Marketing Ltd. Brad specializes in the offshore oil & gas and utility sectors and has transacted in 75 countries worldwide.
We discuss the difficulties of doing business during the coronavirus pandemic, the current state of the offshore business, S-92 resales and valuation and the longer-term outlook for the sector.
August 24, 2020
Industry Insight - A perspective from Pat Sheedy
Our series of interviews concerning the heavy offshore rotorcraft markets continues this week with Pat Sheedy, CEO of Milestone Aviation. Milestone has the largest fleet of S-92s globally.
Pat discusses the current state of play for Milestone as it reaches its 10th anniversary, market volatility, contracting & the risk/reward balance, the recent purchases of S-92 aircraft and what may lie ahead for the industry in the years to come.
August 10, 2020
A New Race to the Bottom?
The two recent helicopter contract awards by operator Total have raised a few eyebrows in the industry. CHC shared some views on the Aberdeen contract last week. To get some perspective from the other side of the water we spoke to NHV CEO Steffen Bay.
August 6, 2020
Industry Insight - A perspective from Ed Washecka
In the first of a series of interviews on the S-92 market, we spoke to Ed Washecka of Intrinsic Aviation examining key issues of leasing and valuation.
August 3, 2020
S-92 Fleet Census Q3 2020
Analysis of activity for each S-92 helicopter operating in the offshore crew transfer fleet shows 81% of the fleet were active in June 2020 with 39 aircraft currently inactive. Of the inactive units, a number have been returned to lessors in the last six months, reflecting current sentiment in the market. The active fleet are, in total, flying 27% fewer number of flights now vs one year prior. These are amongst the headline findings of the latest “S-92 Fleet Census” released today by research firm Air & Sea Analytics.
June 16th, 2020
US News Media - Returning to the Air
Recent weeks have seen the biggest spike in US News rotorcraft activity since the 2019 climate change protests. We take a closer look at the segment.
May 22nd, 2020
A New Dawn for Asia?
Asia is starting to see a material recovery in economic activity and perhaps offers a glimpse into the future for those of us under still under lockdown. Restrictions on rotorcraft activity in oil and gas are lifting and elsewhere new rotary markets are emerging. We spoke to LCI’s Nigel Leishman via videoconference to hear how the market in Asia is currently faring.
Nigel is Executive Vice President & Global Head of Marketing based at LCI’s Singapore office. He has decades of aviation experience and has been with LCI since 2008.
May 11th, 2020
April - ‘Mensis horribilis’ for offshore rotorcraft
We look at activity levels in the Heavy and Super-medium offshore rotorcraft sectors as the coronavirus pandemic and oil industry crisis develops.
April 9th, 2020
An OPEC deal + Update on offshore activity post Covid-19 measures
We've all been watching the markets closely for two things in the last week. A move from OPEC and any sign of what the market turmoil means for offshore rotorcraft activity. We may just have both.
March 16th, 2020.
Covid-19 & Offshore Activity
Over the last week we have seen the Covid-19 outbreak wreak havoc on the world’s population. The number of cases in Europe has exploded and activity and travel is being shut down. Fixed wing flights are being canceled en-masse and aircraft grounded. Stock markets have seen unprecedented turbulence and precipitous falls. Oil prices have plummeted to levels that, if sustained, will decimate onshore unconventional activity and delay sanctioning of many offshore projects slated for FID this year. With regular images in the media of near-empty airports and sparsely filled aircraft we are being asked - is this affecting offshore rotorcraft activity yet? Click here to read more!
February 5th, 2020. Latest S-92 Census published!
S-92 Fleet Status Q1 2020
Announcing the results of the latest ‘S-92 Census’ at the Sikorsky Appraisers Breakfast at HAI Heli Expo in Anaheim, CA, Air & Sea Analytics highlighted that the latest data (as of December 2019) shows robust demand for crew transfer S-92s with 164 units active during the month. … Click here to read more!
January 25, 2020. Aircraft arrive at Anaheim Convention Center for the HAI HELI EXPO 2020
Anaheim, Bristow & Era
Some thoughts on the Bristow & Era merger as we arrive at Anaheim for the HAI HELI EXPO 2020… Click here to read more!
December 30, 2019
A Look Back at Mariner
As we near the end of 2019, let’s take a look back at another notable field start-up this year: Mariner. Equinor describe Mariner as one of their "most innovative offshore developments." With the application of technology, how does that change the role for people and the need for crew transfer? What does the data tell us about such a state-of-the-art offshore field development? Air & Sea Analytics takes a closer look at Equinor’s Marnier project… Click here to read more!
December 23, 2019
First Oil In Guyana
The Liza field achieved first oil on the 20th December 2019. This is a huge milestone for the country. If you value each gross recoverable barrel in the Stabroek block at $60, that’s half a million dollars worth of oil in place for each of the 750,000 inhabitants. But what does this mean for the local crew transfer business? Click here to read more!
October 28, 2019
The Rise Of Super-Mediums
Adoption of Super-Medium rotorcraft has driven an 18% increase in active aircraft in the Heavy & Super-Medium category over the last two years. Is the offshore business now finally on the way to recovery? We speak to leading H175 operator NHV to hear the current view of the market and experiences of introducing the type.