Global helicopter market recovers
Airbus: 40% growth in twelve months
The global helicopter market is recovering, but it will take two to three years to return to pre-crisis levels, the head of helicopter division at planemaker Airbus said on Wednesday.
"We have seen a first sign of a recovery in the global market, which has increased by 40% from 2020 to 2021," said Airbus Helicopters Chief Executive Bruno Even.
"It will take two to three years for us to get back to pre-crisis levels, but the trend is there," he told reporters, adding that he expects the trends seen in 2021 to be confirmed in 2022 .
The world's largest civil helicopter maker previously said deliveries in 2021 rose 13% to 338 units, up from 300 in 2020.
New orders exceeded shipments with 419 gross orders in 2021 or a net total of 414 after cancellations.
Order intake is up sharply from the 289 gross and 268 net orders in 2020 that were impacted by the coronavirus.