Eli-Fly SpA is making the first Heli-Expo appearance ever by an Italian helicopter operator, promoting new shuttle services in Rome and elsewhere in Italy, and a new helicopter training center.

Eli-Fly, established in 1978, operates a dozen helicopters providing EMS, SAR, fire-fighting, construction and other services in Italy, and will assign a pair of Bell 412s to a new shuttle service from Rome's Fiumicino airport to the city's central train station.

The Bells will allow passengers to make the connection in just eight minutes, beginning this April.

Also contemplated is service to Vatican City and the Villa Borghese, and, beyond Rome, Eli-Fly helicopter service to such difficult-to-reach visitor destinations as the volcanic islands that border Sicily.

Eli-Fly is also building a new training facility for both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, at the Sant'Anna airport in Calabria. The location has been selected for its good climate, to give the company a true fair weather base for its training operations, says Eli-Fly marketing manager Fabrizio Borelli. The new training facility is under construction and will open in June.