Civil Helicopter MRO to Reach $6.8 Billion by 2016

Ann Arbor, MI and Amersham, UK (7 December 2007) --[ASDWire]-- AeroStrategy recently completed a detailed analysis of the of the civil helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) market. A key element of the study was a 10 year forecast of the market. Key findings of the forecast include:

• Maintenance accounts for 25% of a typical helicopter's operating cost
• The fleet of civil helicopters at the end of 2006 was 22,170 aircraft which increases to 31,170 aircraft by 2016 (Note: This includes civil derivatives used by military operators)
• In 2006, the baseline year for the forecast, $5.0 billion was spent on civil helicopter MRO
• Spending on civil helicopter MRO is expected to grow to $6.8B by 2016
• 9,950 new civil helicopters are forecast to be delivered between 2007 and 2016 with a peak of 1,049 in 2013
• North America takes 41% of new civil helicopter deliveries from 2007 to 2016, followed by Europe and Asia Pacific comprising 23% and 15%, respectively
• The Component MRO market is the largest segment at $2.0 billion; followed by airframe maintenance at $1.5b; engine overhaul at $1.1b and major modifications at $0.4b
• The large backlog for new helicopters is forcing operators to keep their older aircraft in the air - increasing maintenance expenditures
• Growing use of HUMS and increasingly sophisticated prognostics in the future should reduce maintenance troubleshooting requirements for new generation aircraft and reduce unscheduled maintenance

AeroStrategy is a premier management consulting firm specializing in strategy and market analysis for the aviation and aerospace industries. The firm has offices in Europe and North America. For further information, see www.aerostrategy.com