Bell in search of partners for helicopter training JV in India

In India, the pool of qualified pilots has not kept up with this demand. To help improve this situation Bell is looking at a variety of Indian companies as potential partners in various capacities. It is actively exploring setting-up a training facility/academy in India. "Not only would the pool of qualified pilots grow and increase employment opportunities, but also improve services available for the Indian consumer" said Mr. Bob Fitzpatrick, Senior Vice President – Sales at a press conference during Aero India 2009. In order to ensure the best quality Bell has released an Request For Information (RFI) to select firms interested in partnering with Bell on the promised Training Academy here in India. Apart from making the finest helicopters, Bell has consistently been ranked number 1 customer support in the Professional Pilot magazine. They have been rated by their customers as being number 1 in customer support for 14 consecutive years. With a network of over 150 strategically placed Customer Service Facilities (CSF's), additionally Bell's Customer Support Representatives (CSR's) are available night or day, 7 days a week to provide answers and support for any question that the customers might have about their helicopter. Bell Helicopter also has a customer advisory board that regularly provides input as to what features have the highest priorities. Based on these inputs the aircrafts are designed incorporating as many of those features as possible. Bell is very active in all fields of aviation and is fortunate that their product flexibility allows them to be customized to the needs of the customer whether that is for law enforcement, medical transport or VIP application. Last year Bell announced the addition of McTurbine, and Skybooks to its expanding network of service providers. This is done to reinforce our commitment to customer support. In addition to physical expansion, Bell is making significant investments in the infrastructure needed to support its new Fly*Smart* fleet management service. In the 1st phase Bell is partnering with domestic and international customers to develop on-site logistics maintenance & fleet data management. Bell has invested in leading-edge Condition Based Maintenance research, working with the Army in on board technology to enrich data feed to improve safety, reduce operating costs Developing retrofits, mods and upgrades for legacy fleet.