HI Uplift: Welcome to London Heliport – ‘the sleeping giant’

Space at London Heliport could be described as snug.

“The London Heliport is a sleeping giant.” That’s the assessment of Matthew Rice, heliport manager at the facility which nestles on the south bank of the Thames – a short distance upriver from central London. To explain why, Rice takes us back the heliport’s inception 65 years ago.

To April 8th, 1959, to be precise, when the first helicopter – a Westland Widgeon Series 2, owned by Westland Aircraft – landed on the site. Since then, the facility has had a series of owners including the manufacturer of the first aircraft to land there with others including prestige store Harrods and Weston Homes. In 2012 the heliport was bought by the Reuben Brothers for £35m. (They also own London Oxford Airport). In August 2019, Edmiston took over the title sponsorship of the heliport and restyled the building and repainted the landing apron.

As the only Civil Aviation Authority licensed heliport serving the city of London, Rice tells us “the sleeping giant” is re-awakening. And, after his promotion to heliport manager from operations manager, he is on a mission to grow its revenue streams. “People know the heliport is here and it makes money,” says Rice. “But to me, that isn’t how business works. You can always improve on the past.”

‘Netflix filming here’

So, Rice is looking for additional revenue streams. One early success has been to use the heliport for photoshoots and filming. “Earlier this year we had Netflix filming here for one of their new TV shows and that can be quite lucrative. So, why not use the stunning backdrop to make the best of what we have to grow additional revenue streams?”

Nice to have though it may be, it is helicopter transfers that Rice describes as “the bread and butter of the business”. That means working closely with operators and clients to serve existing business and attract new customers to the facility 3.5 miles (5.6km) southwest of Westminster Bridge.

Clients are a mixture of high-net worth individuals – including movie star Tom Cruise (piloting his own helicopter) and former prime minister Rishi Sunak – as well as corporate clients. Both the heliport and London Biggin Hill Airport highlight the short flight between the two. “If business people arrive from the States into Biggin Hill Airport, they can face up to a three hour journey by car into central London. But the flight here takes just six minutes,” says Rice. There’s also a VIP room, executive lounge and on-site car parking.

After wealthy corporate clients visit the heliport, there’s a good chance they will return on a private visit while travelling to and from a sporting event or music festival, he adds. But corporates also use the heliport for both types of events. This year the facility enjoyed six weeks of traffic for back-to-back events. The long list included: Royal Ascot horse racing event, Glastonbury Festival, the Isle of Wight Festival, British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Goodwood Festival of Speed and Farnborough Airshow. Earlier this year one insurance company flew up to 20 guests in three helicopters into the heliport.

Just short of 9,000 movements

All of which Rice hopes will help the heliport beat last year’s movement total, which fell just short of 9,000. Distinguishing between corporate and private traveller can be tricky when charter companies account for a good deal of the business. Plus, Rice notes a slight fall in corporate traffic this year – possibly as companies try to manage their carbon emissions.

For the future, Rice plans to grow both core and non-core revenue streams. While there’s scope to grow movements, that cannot be uncontrolled growth. Movements at the airport are capped by a local council Section 106 legally binding agreement to limit total movements to 12,000 each year.

Space at the heliport (some would describe as snug) is another restriction. There are three helicopter parking areas and three slots on the apron plus, at a push, temporary parking on the final approach and take-off area (FATO).

Also, local opposition to the heliport can prove problematic – although recently Rice has been surprised by the level of support from long-term residents. He believes more locals will be won over with the news that the heliport offers free landing to the London Air Ambulance and other helicopter charities.

Two other developments likely to shape the heliport’s future are sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and the advent of eVTOLS.

There’s some interest in SAF – but not much yet, according to Rice. At present the Heliport does not sell SAF but it is in discussions with its sister facility London Oxford Airport to secure a supply. (Oxford Airport began selling SAF this year). He believes the green fuel will become increasingly popular as wealthy clients and corporate customers increasingly prioritise their sustainability credentials.

Incidentally, you can read how Helicopter Investor joined the first SAF-powered rotary flight from London Biggin Hill Airport to the heliport here.

Turning to eVTOLS, Rice admits ambivalence. On one hand, the heliport is determined to serve customer demand. If one day a new generation of high-net worth individuals and corporate clients embrace eVTOLs, the facility will accommodate them.

Key challenges

But on the other hand, eVTOLs will not be taxiing in from the FATO anytime soon, he tells us. Key challenges need to be resolved before that happens. Not least are questions about eVTOL endurance, battery charging and fire risk. Current battery technology does not provide eVTOLs with the opportunity to hold or accept major diversions. Until that is remedied, their need for immediate landing will create major conflict with helicopter traffic, he says.

Also, with no commonality of charging system between competing manufacturers, which solution should the facility choose? And inevitably that will preclude some types from using the heliport if no charging facilities are available. Who will pay for the installation of charging facilities?

Staying with cost, at least one eVTOL manufacturer was shocked to discover this year that the heliport’s landing fee for an AW109 heliocopter totals £1,176 including VAT.

Then Rice shudders to consider the impact of a lithium-iron battery fire at the facility. Thermal runaway could lead to a lengthy conflagration that closes the heliport for days, he fears. Rice remains confident that one day the difficulties will be resolved – but not in the immediate future.

Meanwhile, with or without eVTOLs, Rice remains well placed to wake “the sleeping giant” of London Heliport. As the capital’s only licensed airport – and with no prospect of a competitor – the signs are good for a profitable re-awakening. If you enjoy our newsletters please encourage colleagues to sign up here. Thanks

HI Uplift Dashboard: Helicopters for sale

Multi engine

• Total for sale/lease: 314 – three more than last week
• Percentage for sale/lease: 4.24
• Absorption rate: 5.31
• Total fleet: 7,403 – the same as last week.

Single engine

• Total for sale/lease: 411 – five more than last week
• Percentage for sale/lease: 3.58
• Absorption rate: 3.85
• Total fleet: 11,482 – two more than last week.

Source: Amstat, August 23th, 2024.