Customer Survey Gives Top Ratings to MDHI for Product Support and Service; Scores Top Sikorsky, Eurocopter and Agusta

MESA, AZ.-A resurgent MD Helicopters, Inc., captured the No. 2 position for overall product support and service excellence among rotorcraft OEMs in a survey administered by Forecast International for Aviation International News. Complete results are published in the magazine’s August 2007 edition.

“ ’The Phoenix is Rising,’ is the mantra we sing and our rise in the ratings clearly supports our verse,” said MDHI Chairman and CEO Lynn Tilton. “These survey results provide third-party support to that which we have accomplished and speak volumes to our success. I hope they will finally silence those who want the rotorcraft world to think otherwise.”

Sikorsky, Eurocopter, Agusta, and Aerospatiale trailed MDHI in the rotorcraft segment, where overall ratings for product support and service fell by 1.53 percent. MDHI topped all other rotorcraft OEMS in the categories of “Authorized Service Centers,” and “Cost of Parts.”

In the “Authorized Service Center” category, customers rated cost estimates vs. actual, on-time performance, scheduling ease, and service experience. “Cost of Parts” evaluated value for price paid.

Other categories in the survey included “Factory Service Centers,” “Parts Availability,” “AOG Response,” Warranty Fulfillment,“ ”Technical Manuals,“ ”Technical Reps,“ and ”Overall Product Reliability"

Improving product support has been the top priority for Tilton since she acquired MDHI in 2005. Additional priorities include selling, building, delivering aircraft, and establishing a streamlined, vertically integrated company. “We have stated the course and have lived true to our vision. It is nice to see that the improvements have been acknowledged,” she said. “The survey results reflect our truth.”

MDHI has dramatically improved service and support to an installed base of approximately 3,000 aircraft. Aircraft on Ground (AOG) have been reduced by 90 percent. More than 85 percent of orders are shipped within four hours of request. There are six new authorized service centers. Aircraft sales and deliveries are also on the rise. The company has delivered 20 helicopters in 2007 and is on track to deliver 23 more before year’s end. MDHI’s new manufacturing facility in Monterrey, Mexico, is delivering single-engine fuselages and supporting Tilton’s vertical integration strategy.