Whether serving the offshore oil and gas sector or performing passenger transport operations, fleet availability is fundamental for all our commercial customers. Against this backdrop, we are continuing to evolve our service plan offerings to give commercial operators greater certainty and control over their support costs.

In recent years, we have seen growing interest from commercial customers in our fixed-price service plans, including Power-by-the-Hour agreements. For example, roughly 40% of the global AW Family fleet – comprising the AW169, AW139 and AW189 – is now covered by PBH agreements.

PBH offers an alternative to traditional support arrangements for commercial helicopter operations based on time and materials (T&M). Instead, operators can opt to pay a fixed cost per flight hour, subject to a minimum number of flight hours. In return, they receive guaranteed service levels over a fixed term (typically four years) combined with a logistic support package that shifts the burden away from the operator, placing the responsibility with Leonardo.

As an example, our Full Components Plan covers the standard basic configuration of the aircraft for scheduled and unscheduled maintenance events, plus optional kits on request.

“A key element of our commitment to being close to our customers is to strengthen our partnership approach,” explains Francesco Bellardi, VP Customer Support and Services. “PBH is an example of how we can partner with customers more effectively and it is an attractive option for operators looking for greater cost certainty and a way to de-risk their operations by ensuring guaranteed support both for scheduled and unscheduled events.”

Key benefits of PBH agreements

• Cost effective stock holding – with Leonardo acting as the customer’s warehouse
• Minimising unscheduled maintenance risks – stabilising maintenance expenditure by avoiding cost overruns
• Clear commitments on lead times – guaranteed lead times for spare parts, ensuring improved availability and minimising downtime
• Reducing administration – simplifying maintenance operations by providing parts replacement instead of repairs, streamlining requests and reducing the administrative burden
• Lowering investor risk – assurance for the investor or lessor that the asset will be properly maintained by the operator, maximising asset residual value
• Transferability of reserves – in resale scenarios, the capital allocated under the PBH contract can remain tied to the asset. This allows the buyer to reinstate the PBH service seamlessly in their operations.

Viewpoints

Micheal Tosi, CEO and Founder, HeliService USA

“As an operator, there are so many considerations from a support perspective. Where are you in terms of finances? What is your level of technical expertise? How can you minimise risk?

“We chose PBH right from the start of our operations. As a relatively new and growing operator, the main benefit of PBH is that it derisks everything. It makes our cash flow easier, financial forecasting is more straightforward and our expenses are a lot flatter.

“Having a standardised fleet with the AW169 certainly helps – we will be adding a 10th AW169 to our fleet later this year. Our operations are very diverse, which is one of our strengths, and the PBH model works very well for us.” 

Sébastien Moulin, Chief Commercial Officer, Milestone

“At Milestone, many of our customers operate in highly demanding environments where aircraft availability is mission-critical. Leonardo's Full Components Plan (FCP) programme provides an added level of confidence by ensuring direct OEM support, including priority access to parts and maintenance resources during both scheduled maintenance events and aircraft-on-ground situations.

“The FCP offers a comprehensive, predictable support solution that helps manage and stabilise aircraft operating costs over the long term. By covering both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance events, the programme reduces uncertainty around maintenance expenditures and provides operators with greater budget visibility.

“As a global helicopter lessor, we regularly transition aircraft between operators throughout their lifecycle. Historically, transferring Power-by-the-Hour coverage from one operator to another could be a complex and time-consuming process. Through the industry's first streamlined PBH transition solution, signed with Leonardo in July 2025, we have been able to significantly simplify that process. 

“The streamlined transition framework reduces administrative burden, minimises disruption between leases, and helps ensure continuity of support as aircraft move between customers. This has become an important differentiator for Milestone.”

Stuart Stavley, Chief Operating Officer, Offshore Energy Services, Bristow

“PBH provides predictable maintenance costs and allows us to plan and budget more effectively over the life of the fleet and underlying customer contract. It also reduces the need to carry large inventories of routine rotable components because the exchange programme provides access to serviceable parts. That allows us to focus our inventory investment on high fail strategic AOG generating components that are critical to maintaining high operational availability.

“Day-to-day, PBH provides reliable access to serviceable parts, minimising aircraft downtime and supporting higher fleet availability. It also places the management of component repairs, overhauls, and obsolescence with the PBH provider, reducing administrative burden and helping ensure components remain supportable throughout their service life.

“PBH aligns well with our operational and commercial requirements by providing predictable maintenance support across a mixed fleet of owned and leased aircraft. It also helps protect aircraft value by ensuring components are maintained within an established support programme. For leased aircraft, PBH simplifies fleet transitions because aircraft can enter and exit service with continuous component coverage, reducing complexity for both operators and lessors.”

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