My iphone 11 will not connect with my ipad air 2

Direct Bluetooth pairing is not supported between iOS devices. However, the phone call answering feature does not require direct bluetooth connection, only for it to be turned on on both devices.

See here to verify your iPad is turned on for Call forwarding under Settings->Phone->Call Forwarding on your iPhone: Make and receive calls on your Mac, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

Hello dbader3718 welcome to Apple Support Communities. It appears you are having some difficulty connecting an iPad to an iPhone over Bluetooth.

This is actually expected. While Bluetooth is involved in some apps and features — for example if you were to use AirDrop to send a file between the two devices — a direct connection between iOS devices over Bluetooth is not supported.

Cheers.