Hourly-cost maintenance provider Jet Support Services (JSSI) is launching several new programs this week. The Chicago-based company has extended its Tip-to-Tail program for Embraer’s new Legacy 500 and 450, naming Turkish air taxi operator Bon AirHavacilik as its launch customer. The new programs include coverage for the airframe, the Honeywell HTF7500E engines and the Honeywell 36-150 auxiliary power unit.

“With the Legacy 500 entering the market late last year and the 450 expected to be in service later this year, we are well positioned to support this fleet as buyers take delivery,” noted JSSI president and CEO Neil Book. “We’re able to provide an alternative program to the customer who can now come to JSSI exclusively to cover engine, airframe and APU, otherwise they would have had to work with three different programs, three different points of contact and three different contracts.”

With the debut of the Bombardier Challenger 650 in Geneva, JSSI promoted its new Platinum engine program, which is ready to cover the General Electric CF34-3 MTO engines when the twinjet enters service. “We’ve got pretty extensive experience on the CF-34 across a number of platforms,” Book told AIN. “We were able to take the data and the history that we have with those engines and port it over to the Challenger 650. We believe it’s really critical that the consumers, the buyers of these aircraft, have an alternative to the manufacturer when it comes to their maintenance program.”

While the company’s Platinum program provides inclusive scheduled and unscheduled engine maintenance (including replacement of life-limited components), JSSI can provide customized plansfor customers who prefer less coverage. “One of the things that's special about the JSSI program is our ability to put together a program to meet the needs of a customer,” noted Susan Marr, chief administrative officer.

If a customer does not want to include the life-limited components in the program, said Marr, JSSI can take them out and offer a rate based on that coverage.

A Tip-to-Tail hourly-cost maintenance program for the Challenger 650 will also be launched shortly. Currently JSSI supports more than 175 different models under its Tip-to-Tail coverage.

On the rotorcraft side, JSSI announced a Platinum maintenance program for the approximately 900 Honeywell (formerly Lycoming) LTS101 retrofit engines in service on the Airbus Helicopters AS350 and Bell 222. “As the LTS101 engine continues its resurgence in the helicopter industry, we are proud to be the first to offer a comprehensive maintenance program to support these operators,” said Book. "We’re excited because we’ve got a fairly sizable pipeline of prospects on it, particularly in law enforcement, oil and gas and medevac, so we think there are some opportunities here.”

While the U.S. remains its strongest market, much of JSSI’s present growth is coming from international markets such as the Middle East, Asia and Europe, according to Book.