Bell's Asia Pacific Chief Sees Growth in Region's Helicopter Market, Citing India's Regulatory, Infrastructure and Funding Hurdles
Why It MattersHelicopter growth in India and Southeast Asia depends less on aircraft demand than on regulatory permissions, landing infrastructure and clear funding models for services such as air ambulance operations.
David Sale, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, at Bell, has assessed the region's commercial helicopter prospects, drawing on 35 years of experience in military helicopter maintenance, flying and the commercial helicopter business. He said Australia, Japan, the Philippines and New Zealand have established commercial helicopter markets with relatively high numbers of aircraft per capita, while commercial operations in parts of Southeast Asia are still developing. Demand varies from year to year across such a large region, and Sale said Asia overall is a growth market for Bell.
In India, Sale said last year was one of Bell's best years, with estimated commercial sales of more than six aircraft, which he called significant in a market with around 300 commercial helicopters. Strong demand was also seen in the Philippines and Japan. Pilgrimage, tourism and oil and gas remain important sources of demand in India, which he said has considerable potential, particularly for last-mile transport, urban helicopter connections, emergency medical services and regional connectivity.
Sale said regulatory restrictions limit where helicopter operators in India can fly and land, even when customers are willing to use their services. Landing arrangements also need to be addressed. There has been interest in building helipads along roads, although helicopters can use other suitable surfaces. Bell needs to work with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, transport authorities and other agencies to establish how these operations can be supported, for example helicopters connecting airports with central locations in Delhi and Mumbai.
For helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS), a further challenge is establishing how operations will be funded. Sale said HEMS is growing as countries become wealthier and can spend more on public services: Thailand is working to develop its market, Japan has an established service supported by government funding, and Bell has a number of aircraft supporting operations in Australia. In the US, insurance typically pays for HEMS, while other countries use public funding. In India and parts of Southeast Asia, decisions are still needed on who will operate the aircraft and fund the services. On regional connectivity, Sale said programmes such as UDAN require infrastructure to support the proposed services, followed by implementation, and that operators are ready to provide those services once the programmes are put into operation.
