Microturbo (Safran) and Bel Air Aviation A/S are pleased to announce the signature of a Support By the Hour (SBH) agreement for the e-APU60 on the AW189 helicopter. Bel Air operates a fleet of two AW189 in the Oil & Gas sector.
This five-year SBH agreement will provide Bel Air a fixed amount per flight hour used service with a full maintenance for the e-APU60. Anticipated benefits include technical and logistical assistance, greater safety, availability and flexibility.

Thierry Gourmanel, Commercial and Customer Support Vice President, Microturbo, declared: “Microturbo focused on a smooth AW189 entry into service with first operators such as Bel Air. Our main objective is to offer best-in-class support and services solutions to our customers. We worked together closely with Turbomeca Germany to offer the best support solution to Bel Air and ensure its satisfaction. This repair support will be provided by Microturbo in Toulouse”.

Bel Air believes in the full support from the OEMs, this increase the safety and reliability of the product. And with this support, and with our experienced colleges, we firmly believe in the new AW189 to be a success.” says Susanne Hesselund, Bel Air CEO.

This agreement confirms the development of Microturbo’s service offers. Today, 50% of the AW189 helicopter fleet benefits from the Microturbo SBH agreement.

Specially designed to meet the demands of new-generation more-electric aircraft, this new power source concept successfully completed its certification tests, receiving the highest level of EASA civil certification (Category 1 for essential use) as well as certification by the American civil authorities of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on June 12th 2014.

With its streamlined architecture and proven technologies developed within Safran, the e-APU60 is characterized by an excellent power-to-weight ratio, exceptional compactness, as well as optimized reliability and cost of ownership. It also meets current and anticipates future environmental standards, featuring impressively low fuel consumption, pollution and noise emission levels.

Microturbo (Safran), subsidiary of Turbomeca, is specialized in the design and manufacturing of power systems for civil and military aerospace: auxiliary power units and starting systems for aircraft and helicopters, turbojet engines for missiles and target drones. Microturbo power solutions are efficient and reliable as a result of considerable R&D investments and strategic partnerships with the world’s leading OEMs. Represented worldwide, Microturbo offers efficient Support and Service solutions to its customers in order to meet their expectations every day. Microturbo is a world leader in the field of power systems and propulsion systems, and has delivered over 21,000 units.