Airbus Helicopters added 250 helicopters to HCare Smart and Infinite contracts in 2019, increasing to 2,250 the number of aircraft now covered by a global HCare material management contract. This means 19% of Airbus Helicopters’ worldwide fleet is now covered by HCare.
The new aircraft, all with HCare Smart, were from Papillon (21 H130s) and Heliportugal (9 H125s). Papillon’s entire fleet of H130s will now be covered by HCare. Also at the show, DRF Luftrettung signed an eight-year extension of HCare Smart for its entire fleet of nearly 60 helicopters.
Other customers added in 2019 include PHI Health (H125s), Boston Med Flight (HCare Smart), Superior Helicopters (HCare Infinite), and STARS air ambulance (HCare Smart), among others. In North America alone, 78 helicopters joined HCare last year. And of the 58 H225s repurposed in 2019, more than 75% of those already in operation are covered by HCare.
The HCare fleet is composed of almost every helicopter in the Airbus range for missions ranging from emergency medical services and aerial work, to oil & gas, tourism and military operations. Around 95 percent of HCare Smart customers opt to extend their contracts with Airbus.