India's Global Vectra first worldwide customer to take up HCare Smart parts-by-the-hour contract for H130

Global Vectra Helicorp Ltd. (GVHL) has signed a PBH contract for its H130 light helicopter, benefiting from Airbus Helicopters' redefined customer service offer called HCare which was introduced early this year. GVHL's H130 will be covered by the HCare Smart PBH service, which has been developed with careful consideration of the support required by operators of light helicopters.

The HCare Smart is a competitively-priced PBH program with no upfront payment required for new contracts. Defective components will be exchanged within 24 hours thanks to a dedicated spare parts pool dedicated to PBH program customers. Such a program provides operators such as GVHL with greater peace of mind as fleet availability is enhanced, maintenance costs remain stable and the need to keep inventory is reduced.

“GVHL is the first customer in the world to benefit from the HCare Smart PBH contract for light helicopters which provides the most adapted and cost-effective service package today,” explained Xavier Hay, managing director of Airbus Helicopters India. “With the increasing number of light helicopters operating in India, the PBH program presents a new standard in the comprehensive support of single-engine helicopter fleet in the country, which I am sure will be greatly appreciated by our customers as well as end users.”

GVHL is India's largest private helicopter company, which inducted the first H130 in India for its on-shore operations division offering charters and religious tourism services among others.

“The H130 has performed outstandingly, including several months of operations in the Himalayas,” said AJ Baker, ceo of GVHL. “We are confident that the HCare Smart PBH program will provide us with optimal availability of the aircraft for daily shuttle operations at the highest quality and safety standards, which is the commitment we give to our passengers.”

HCare is Airbus Helicopters' redefined services offer, which emphasizes the company's commitment to service quality and performance and provides the rotorcraft industry's most comprehensive service coverage to keep customers flying, anytime, anywhere.

The HCare offer brings superior customer service support in five domains: Material Management, Helicopter Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) and upgrades, Technical Support, Training & Flight Operations and Connected Services. As part of this commitment to constantly support customers around the world, HCare encompasses a new one-stop 24/7 customer support platform to manage all customer queries, accessible via the Keycopter customer portal, by telephone or by email. HCare also includes the January 1, 2015 introduction of enhanced warranty conditions covering three years or 2,000 flight hours, with the first year of labor included. This new warranty offer further emphasizes the company's no- compromise approach to the quality and reliability for its products.