HeliDax, a French helicopter operator and aircraft fleet solutions provider has announced that the company has signed the first-ever HCare Classics support contract with Airbus Helicopters to optimize the availability of HeliDax’s H120 fleet. HCare Classics is Airbus’ new support package entirely dedicated to meeting the support needs of the company’s out-of-production legacy helicopters. Airbus Helicopters is the world’s leading manufacturer of helicopters that offers a comprehensive lineup of civilian and military helicopters in the world.
HeliDax has operated the Airbus H120 since 2008. The company relies on its fleet of 36 H120s to provide basic and advanced training to the French and Belgian armed forces and the French Gendarmerie. HeliDax has been in partnership with the French government for 14 years. Since the beginning of the partnership, HeliDax has maintained an availability level of 100% and has accumulated 246,000 hours of H120 flight time, training multiple generations of helicopter pilots. This translates to as many as 22,000 flight hours per year.
“To continue guaranteeing our fleet and service availability until the end of our contract with the government in 2030, it is essential to have a strong commitment from our major partner, Airbus Helicopters, in terms of support and obsolescence monitoring,” says Christian Prigentt, director of HeliDax. “The HCare Classics contract secures our supply chain and replaces our acquisition of safety stocks, whose quantities are based on estimates only without taking into account future logistical supply chain risks. In this respect, and thanks to its service, which is paid per flight hour, this contract will contribute directly to our management of maintenance costs, until the end of our agreement with the French government,” he added further.