Air Methods has signed a $24 million, five-year HCare Smart support contract with Airbus Helicopters to cover its fleet of 31 EC145 helicopters. “This is the first of what we hope to be multiple HCare contracts, which allows us to partner with Airbus to drive safety, reliability and cost targets for our customer base,” says Leo Morrissette, EVP of operations for Air Methods. “This contract provides us peace of mind knowing that we are working with the manufacturer to provide a higher level of service and responsiveness for our patients.”

This is Air Methods' first HCare contract with Airbus, and discussions are underway to extend similar support coverage to other aircraft models in its fleet, which also includes the H125, H130, H135 and H145. Air Methods is a leading air medical service provider, delivering lifesaving care to more than 70,000 people every year. With nearly 40 years of air medical experience, the operator is a preferred partner for hospitals and one of the largest community-based providers of air medical services. Air Methods has a fleet of owned, leased or maintained aircraft with more than 450 aircraft.

“Air Methods is a key and trusted member of the Airbus family, and we're extremely proud to help support the life-saving air medical operations it carries out on a daily basis all over the country,” says Anthony Baker, VP of customer support at Airbus Helicopters. “With nose-to-tail airframe coverage for its EC145 fleet, we will collaborate with Air Methods to support efficient management, streamline costs and eliminate surprises, with the intent of increasing operational availability and allowing Air Methods to focus its resources on its core business of fully supporting its customer base.”

HCare is Airbus Helicopters' comprehensive services offering, delivering tailor-made and competitive solutions to customers. It spans five domains: material management, helicopter maintenance, technical support, training and flight operations, and connected services, with experts available on-call 24/7. The HCare material management service starts out with Easy (on-request catalogue services) and Smart (four by-the-hour options), before progressively building up to Infinite (full availability commitments).