Over the past year, Airbus Helicopters has almost doubled the number of rotorcraft now sharing flight and maintenance data with the OEM. Currently, it has nearly 1,000 helicopters representing more than 165 operators worldwide in the program.
Among them is Hungarian Air Ambulance, which announced a three–year contract this week at Heli-Expo 2020 to deploy the manufacturer’s connected services for its new fleet of nine preowned H135s, thereby digitizing its entire chain of maintenance and flight operations. The EMS operator also became the first customer for Flight Analyser analytics, which supports operational safety by analyzing aircraft and flight data post-flight to identify risks before they lead to incidents or accidents.
“Collection of such valuable data is made possible thanks to our strategy of building digital solutions, such as HUMS, digital log cards, and digital logbooks, which enable customers to digitize their operations,” said Christoph Zammert, the manufacturer’s executive v-p of customer support and services.
The airframer also noted it added 250 helicopters to HCare Smart and Infinite contracts last year, increasing its rolls to 2,250 aircraft, or 19 percent of its worldwide fleet, now covered by the HCare material management program. Newly added are Papillon’s 21 H130s and HeliPortugal’s nine H125’s.
The program provides customer support in five areas: material management, MRO and upgrades, technical support, training and flight operations, and connected services. On-call experts are available 24/7.
Airbus Helicopters (Booth 3432) has unveiled new digital services improvements, including the new collaborative AirbusWorld customer portal and an online marketplace, making e-commerce available to its customers. The new portal, which replaces Keycopter, offers integration of the global network of service and training centers and new functionalities such as an online catalog and online communities to foster dialogue among operators and with the OEM.
Four companies—Wesco Aircraft, Boysen Aerospace, PPG Aerospace, and Addev Materials—this week at the show signed vendor agreements with Airbus, making them official vendors on the marketplace.