Simple Engine Maintenance Solution Reduces Costs and Downtime
By Pratt & Whitney Customer Service
P&WCSMART solutions help customers like Wisk Air control their maintenance costs and make sure their aircraft are ready for important missions.
A Business Built on Availability
Customers across Canada count on Wisk Air to ferry them in and out of remote locations where there's often no alternate means of transportation. The Thunder Bay-based company's helicopters fly missions of all kinds, including transportation of workers in forestry and mining camps, medical evacuation operations and firefighting. It's therefore vital that Wisk Air's helicopters get to where they're needed when they're needed.
“Availability is super-important,” remarks Kevin Robins, Director of Maintenance, Wisk Air. “Our aircraft flying is our business. It’s integral that we do good maintenance and that parts are available right when we need them”.
You do preventive maintenance in aviation. It's a progressive, ongoing thing. You don't wait for something to break then fix it because a helicopter's not like a car - you can't just pull over if something goes wrong.
- KEVIN ROBINS, DIRECTOR OF MAINTENANCE, WISK AIR
A Pricing Structure You Can Trust
Wisk Air's fleet includes two Bell 412 twin-engine utility helicopters powered by P&WC's PT6T-3B engines, which it acquired three years ago. The gearboxes on these engines need to be sent in for an overhaul after a certain number of hours.
Earlier this year, with the deadline for an overhaul coming up, Kevin began shopping around for a zero time since overhaul (O TSO) exchange gearbox so that his aircraft could stay in service and minimize operational downtime. One of the people he talked to was P&WC's John Winn, Regional Sales Manager.
"When I spoke with Kevin and he explained the situation to me, I immediately thought that the P&WCSMART Exchange Program for PT6T-3B engines would be a good solution for him," John recalls.
Kevin was pleasantly surprised by the price, which was lower than others quoted to him, but what sealed the deal was the guaranteed flat rate.
"That was very appealing, "Kevin says. "Sometimes when you send a component in for an overhaul, you think you got a good deal, but if it costs more than expected. The company charges you for this and that, so two months later you get a bill for the overages."
Not having to worry about the condition of the core is a very attractive feature of the P&WCSMART Engine Exchange program.
- KEVIN ROBINS, DIRECTOR OF MAINTENANCE, WISK AIR
Stepping Up to Ensure Customer Satisfaction
Earlier this year, Wisk Air's helicopters were urgently needed in B.C., to help contain the forest fires that were raging across the province's interior. The events increased the daily use of the helicopter, therefore, accelerating the need for an exchange unit.
"We could not deliver the overhauled gearbox in time, but, to ensure full support and given the criticality of the mission, we made alternate arrangements. We stepped up to the plate and executed plan B-which was to take a new gearbox from our P&WC inventory and sell it at the agreed 0 TSO exchange price," John explains.
Kevin was delighted by P&WC’s flexibility and the extra value provided to Wisk Air. “We were quite shocked,” he recalls. “They pulled a fresh gearbox off the shelf and gave it to us at the same price as the exchange gearbox. The customer service went way above and beyond.”
The Engine Exchange program is just one of many tailored P&WCSMART Maintenance Solutions for helicopter, PW100 and PT6A engines. Discover how this program simplifies cost management and planning.
P&WC’s PT6T-3B engine.
