“Helicopters Are Unlikely Victim of Oil Downturn” (WSJ) has some mournful tidings:
Industry executives said a fifth of the 1,900 helicopters serving the oil-and-gas industry world-wide are idle or underemployed, and expect this overcapacity to worsen before it improves.
Helicopters used by the oil-and-gas sector account for 26% of the global commercial fleet, according to AgustaWestland, a unit of Finmeccanica SpA.
Mr. Mannion said the industry will have to look—for the first time—at options for storing unsold helicopters. Manufacturers said limited indoor storage facilities in hangars had created a need for alternative solutions. Mr. Mannion said the alternatives included shrink-wrapping or Heli-Cells—inflatable climate-controlled canopies originally developed to protect expensive classic cars.
Market leader CHC, which went public two years ago, has seen its market value wiped out after peaking at $1.3 billion, and the company was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in January.
Lockheed Martin, which paid $9 billion for Sikorsky last year, expects the unit’s commercial sales to slide to $375 million this year from a peak of $1.5 billion in 2013.
Related:
I would imagine cheap camera drones are also eliminating a lot of the “eye in the sky” jobs once done by helicopters.
I know someone that is looking at buying a brand new Bell 429.
Shouldn’t he pick something up from one of these oil companies instead?
Also, does this mean you are going to buy a few nice helicopters cheaply?