Airbus Helicopters’ promises of improved product support related to its new H Care customer service program are now coming with financial guarantees, according to Matthieu Louvot, the company’s senior vice president for support and services. “If we are late, we pay. Even with one single mishap,” Louvot said.

Customers who place planned parts orders, those placed out at least 15 days, and receive them late, will get a sliding-scale rebate of between 4 and 8 percent. “We feel we can do this as we are currently at 98 percent” on-time delivery on orders planned at least 15 days out, he said.

The guarantees come in conjunction with a new helicopter warranty, good for 2,000 hours or three years, whichever comes first, including free labor on all covered repairs during the first year; new hourly maintenance programs being offered by Airbus; a streamlined global customer service organization; and a $100 million boost in parts inventories. Even with larger inventories at distribution centers, Louvot stressed that Airbus’s practice of stocking parts at select customer locations will continue. “To get to the type of commitments in H Care with smart contracts you have to consign critical parts close to the customer at locations such as Aberdeen [Scotland] and Perth [Australia]. If operators decide to fly the [new super-medium] H175 in the Gulf of Mexico, we will have a stock of parts close by in the U.S.,” he said.  

Customer-centric Support Model

The moves, part of CEO Guillame Faury’s strategy of improved industrialization, are designed to lift Airbus Helicopters’ from its perennial last-place finish in civil rotorcraft customer support surveys, including those in this publication. Louvot said Airbus spent the last 18 months evaluating its customer service and preparing to roll out H Care.

“Our first priority is to do what is right for customers, and it costs what it costs,” Louvot said. “We set a standard of service for the customer; set clear targets on service levels for spares and turn times for repairs, and lead time for technical queries. What is new is that it is integrated with all 26 Airbus Helicopter companies around the world which were operating independently. We realized that this lack of coordination with spares made it impossible to set one good service standard that we can apply consistently.” In conjunction with this, customers are given just one phone and fax number and one e-mail address to contact the company 24/7, with calls and contact rolling to the company’s call centers in Texas, Europe or Singapore depending on time of day. “Our worldwide hubs will support each other,” Louvot said. “We can save several hours to fix a problem by using our global presence. We have connected the hubs and enhanced their technical abilities so that customers get the right technical support.”

Structurally, after the necessary research was done and realistic standards set, Airbus “took binding commitments to the customers to show that we mean business,” Louvot said. “We do it through two new services: a standard parts exchange and a guaranteed turn time for the repairs. We commit to a turn time and if it is not met for any reason we give a part for standard exchange for the same price as the repair. So the customer gets the part in the committed time, [mostly] four to five days. For dynamic components that are more complex, it could be longer and we are introducing the program progressively on the dynamic components.”

Airbus also is changing its hourly maintenance programs, including parts-by-the-hour (PBH). “We’ve made PBH more attractive for singles and light twins,” Louvot said. “For singles, we have reduced the standard price by 25 percent and removed the [up front] buy-in. Before, it was a bit complex and difficult for small operators to afford. Now, at the end of the contract you pay in the potential of your life-limited equipment coming in and coming out. There is no upfront cash required, and the price is competitive,” he said. “We also have exchange by the hour for unscheduled maintenance for customers who don’t want to provision their scheduled maintenance.”

For customers who want a complete turnkey care solution, Airbus offers H Care Infinite, which comes with a guaranteed aircraft availability rate negotiated between the company and the customer. “It is relatively new but we think we will find a lot of customers who don’t want to be concerned with the maintenance aspects of operating their helicopters,” Louvot said.

Airbus also is collecting more maintenance data from customers, offering them new maintenance information software (accessible via the cloud) and rolling out a new mission preparation app for smart devices that can help customers precisely calculate items such as weight-and-balance. Airbus also is launching an e-logbook service for pilots and maintenance technicians.