Safran Helicopter Engines CEO Franck Saudo describes the helicopter market as “superb” even while acknowledging “severe supply-chain headwinds.” Speaking with reporters just ahead of Heli-Expo, Saudo characterized the business as “the best market I have seen for close to the past ten years.” With “positive momentum in next to all helicopter market segments” in “all geographical areas,” the upward trend prevails for both new helicopter demand and the aftermarket, he added. He attributed the scenario to an increase in worldwide helicopter flight hours, which have returned to pre-pandemic levels and contributed to a “robust and sustained demand for new helicopters” that has eclipsed the demand recorded in 2019.
Saudo said his company’s supply chain “remains very much constrained...mainly due to labor shortages” and constitutes “the number one challenge of our company in 2023.” He said that Safran has battled the problem by becoming increasingly vertically integrated and adding employees—400 last year and an estimated 200 in 2023. Material shortages are acute in steel, particularly superalloys, he added. “In the foreseeable future, I do not see an improvement,” Saudo said. “We keep assessing the situation.”
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