Leading helicopter engine manufacturer Turbomeca (Safran group), and Milestone Aviation Group, the world’s pre-eminent helicopter lessor, announced at Heli-Expo today the beginning of an expansive partnership between the two companies.

Through the Global Support Partnership, Turbomeca and Milestone are jointly developing new engine support solutions and services for Milestone’s lease customers around the world. The first support program to be developed is the unique Milestone Support by the Hour (SBH®) program, which will provide added value and other ancillary benefits to Milestone’s customers.

“We are excited to announce this strategically important collaboration with Milestone,” said Olivier Andries, Chairman and CEO of Turbomeca. “Milestone presents a new opportunity for us to expand our customer base through their market leading global lease portfolio of Turbomeca-powered helicopters.”

“This partnership will help a large segment of our customers to control their operating costs,” said Richard Santulli, Chairman of Milestone Aviation Group. “The Turbomeca team has proven to be very creative in working with us to develop new support solutions and services. Today’s announcement is only the beginning.”

Turbomeca will manage this global support partnership using Turbomeca’s international network of its support sites and numerous affiliate maintenance centers, thus offering a global solution with local interface for Milestone’s customers.