Rotortrade hails ‘strong Q1 start’ to sales, leasing and MRO
Rotortrade's Latrobe MRO facility in Pennsylvania.
Helicopter services group Rotortrade claims a strong start to the first quarter of this year across its three main divisions of sales, leasing and maintenance, research and overall (MRO). The business achieved more than 50% revenue growth and a significant increase in global transactions after a record-breaking 2025, it said.
The results are said to reflect sustained demand across emergency medical services (EMS), utility and VIP segments, the operational launch of its new leasing business Rotortrade last month and the growth of its MRO services.
The business completed several significant transactions across key markets during the first quarter (Q1), according to a statement. “These include the delivery of two H145D3 helicopters to Life Flight Network in the United States, marking a major milestone in the EMS segment, as well as a two-H145D3 fleet upgrade transaction with CareFlite,” it said.
In addition, Rotortrade completed a cross-continental AW119Ke sale to Aeromaster in Ecuador and the sale and delivery of the first Airbus H160 helicopter in the Southern Cone of Latin America to Helipatagonia in Argentina.
Launching the helicopter leasing business, Philippe Lubrano told us: “We have always seen our new leasing business RotorLease as the last stepping stone of the ecosystem to complement our brokerage and MRO businesses.”
During the quarter, Rotortrade also reported the continued growth of its MRO capabilities. Its MRO facility at Latrobe, Pennsylvania was appointed as an official Garmin dealership, which was said to enhance its avionics integration offering. The business also agreed a partnership signed with SKYTRAC to deliver certified connectivity solutions across Europe, the US and the Middle East.
The business continued to invest in market intelligence releasing its APAC, North America, and Global Helicopter Market Reports. These offered insights into supply constraints, financing trends, and regional dynamics shaping the industry. It also sponsored the 60th anniversary of Air Mercy Service.
“Overall, the first quarter of 2026 demonstrates continued execution of our strategy: combining global sales reach, structured financing solutions, and expanding MRO capabilities to support operators across all major markets,” saidhttps://www.rotortrade.com/ the company.
Speaking to Helicopter Investor at last month’s Verticon vertical lift event at Atlanta, Georgia, Lubrano set out the company’s commercial objectives. “Our target is to reach $500m of revenue by 2030,” he told us. “From that 100 million will be from the leasing activity, 100 million from MRO and 300m from aircraft sales and financing. Those are extremely ambitious targets.” Read his comments in full here.
