HI Uplift: Rotortrade hails Euro demand (and UK promise)
Rotortrade's new MRO facility in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
Rebounding civil helicopter markets – with steady demand and increasing parapublic missions – is how Rotortrade describes the “mature but shifting market” of Europe, according to Philippe Lubrano, its founder and CEO. The strong growth potential of the UK MRO market was also highlighted in his conversation with us.
Regional fleet growth is being driven by demand from emergency medical services (EMS), oil and gas, wind farm maintenance and government logistics, said the company after the publication of its latest report European Helicopter Market Analysis 2024/2025.
Countries leading that growth are Germany, France, the UK, the Netherlands and Scandinavian nations. While Western Europe continues to lead demand, Rotortrade notes rising activity in Central and Eastern Europe. This reflects countries modernising ageing fleets with affordable and certified alternatives in the wake of longer OEM delivery times and cost inflation adding to the price of new aircraft, it says.
The top mission segment for the firm’s European clients is EMS, followed by firefighting and VIP/corporate operations.
80 transactions
Popular models include Leonardo Helicopter’s AW139, AW169 and AW189 plus from Airbus its H145, H135, H125 and H130. From Bell the 407 and 429 also remained in demand. The total turbine fleet in Europe is sized at 2,657 aircraft – composed of 1,519 single-engine turbine helicopters and 1,138 twin-engine turbine assets. Rotortrade recorded 80 helicopter transactions this year.
Talking to Helicopter Investor, Lubrano sets out the company’s multi-service commitment to the civil helicopter sector. “Our European strategy is built on supporting operators with integrated solutions – that include helicopter maintenance, training and financing – all delivered with the agility the market now requires,” he says.
Reinforcing the company’s ambition to be the leading provider of end-to-end helicopter solutions across Europe are its OEM-approved maintenance centre in Tallard, southeastern France, and its pan-European footprint.
The Tallard facility is an Airbus Helicopters Approved Maintenance Centre covering everything from routine checks to major overhauls and modifications on: Airbus H120s, AS350, H125s and H145s. The facility is also approved to perform maintenance on Leonardo AW139 aircraft.
Many buyers are prioritising local MRO availability and alternatives to factory-only support, according to the company. With supply chains tightening and OEMs extending delivery schedules, local maintenance capability and strong parts logistics service are said to be increasingly decisive in purchase decisions.
The key words here for Lubrano are local and service. Location, language and culture are important ingredients in Rotortrade’s recipe for profitable expansion. “The difference between the jet business and the helicopter business is the radius,” says Lubrano, a former Airbus executive. “You have to be close. You have to understand the mentality and the client. If you want to be dealing in the UK, you have to be English or when dealing in Italy, you have to be Italian. You cannot expect everybody to come to where you are from far.”
‘Rotortrade was born for that’
Now for that second word: service. Lubrano is convinced only by offering top- class service to clients will Rotortrade prosper and expand. “I don’t have a multi-billion-dollar contract with the military, or with any government. So, I have to go the extra mile not to lose the client,” he tells us. “We understand what the client wants and how to make them happy. Rotortrade was born for that.”
Lubrano thinks the MRO market – both inside Europe and beyond – is ripe for expansion. On the continent, Eastern Europe and Southern Europe offer considerable potential. But his prime pick for expansion lies not in continental Europe but off its northern coast. “Right now, to be honest, my number one priority would be to go to the UK. The UK [MRO market] is really something we have to consider [to satisfy unfilled MRO demand].”
Beyond Europe, Rotortrade is opening a new MRO facility at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Based on the Tallard model, the new US centre will provide services for various helicopter types, with plans for expansion into completions, customisation and overhaul capabilities, focusing on clients in emergency medical services (EMS) and law enforcement.
Also, Rotortrade now has a gateway into Africa after the company’s owner The Helicopter Company (THC), itself a public company wholly owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), acquired a 76% stake in Heliconia. The deal finalised last month brings the African helicopter services company, headquartered in Casablanca, Morocco, into the portfolio of rotary businesses controlled by PIF. (Helconia specialises in offshore transport for the oil and gas sector, HEMS, VIP/corporate transport and other special missions across Africa).
“With the late acquisition of Heliconia, by our shareholder THC in West Africa, we’re going to start also to manage the MROs in West Africa and North Africa,” Lubrano tells us.
Critical missions
The prize on offer is certainly a lucrative one. The latest Investec Banking and Wealth management report values the pre-owned helicopter services market at about $27.69bn in 2023. This will reach $48.06bn within nine years; powered by critical missions such as EMS, search and rescue and firefighting, it predicts.
But Lubrano does not underestimate the challenge of expansion in an uncertain world. “MRO is an articulation between infrastructure cost, operating cost and human resources,” he says. “If we’re talking about spares, you need to have the right level of spare parts. You need to have the right facility in the right location. You need to have the right tools. You need to have the right people. You need to have the right level of cash flow.”
Success depends on a “delicate and sensitive combination” of many factors such as these. One of the most important factors is never saying: ‘No’ to a client. “Everything is in the planning and the ability you have to say yes to someone who shows up,” says Lubrano. “If you start to turn people down because you’re too busy, one day you will go down.”
Meanwhile, read Rotortrade’s report here.
Philippe Lubrano, CEO of Rotortrade.
HI Uplift Dashboard: Helicopters for sale
Multi engine
- Total for sale/lease: 277 – five more than last week
- Percentage for sale/lease: 3.63%
- Absorption rate: 3.64 months
- Total fleet: 7,633 – two more than last week.
Single engine
- Total for sale/lease: 444 – five more than last week
- Percentage for sale/lease: 3.79%
- Absorption rate: 3.8 months
- Total fleet: 11,701 – eight more than last week.
Source: AMSTAT, December 19th 2025
