JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA--(Marketwired - July 10, 2013) - Bombardier Aerospace is continuing to enhance its worldwide aftermarket support network with a new Regional Support Office (RSO) and parts depot in Johannesburg, South Africa. The office and depot will anchor regional support capabilities for Bombardier business and commercial aircraft customers in Africa.
Both the Johannesburg RSO and parts depot are co-located at Bombardier's Business Aircraft Authorized Service Facility (ASF), ExecuJet South Africa's facility at the Lanseria Airport. When fully staffed in the coming months, the new RSO will include teams from both Bombardier's business and commercial aircraft, and will each include an RSO Manager leading regionally focused Customer Support Account Managers (CSAM) and Field Service Representatives (FSR). As the business and commercial aircraft fleet grows, Bombardier will continue to explore expanding its RSO's capabilities and staff.
The 2,153-square-foot (200 sq-m) Johannesburg parts depot facility will be operated through an agreement with ExecuJet South Africa. The facility will be equipped to serve all business and commercial aircraft customers within the region starting in the coming months.
"As the operator base grows within Africa, we are committed to providing our customers with the highest-quality service that we have in place worldwide," said Eric Martel, President, Customer Services & Specialized and Amphibious Aircraft, Bombardier Aerospace. "We recognize how critical it is for customers to have support and parts available in their own region. This is yet another important change we have implemented to foster continuing success for the growing number of Bombardier aircraft operators."
More than 240 Bombardier business and commercial jets are based in Africa. Both the Johannesburg RSO and parts depot facility will provide expertise and support to local customers, as well as customers flying into the region. The RSO will serve as a locally based link to Bombardier's network of highly skilled in-service engineering teams and 24/7 Customer Response Centres (CRC). The office will work in close collaboration with Bombardier's maintenance network of wholly owned service centres and ASFs, as well as our network of parts hubs and depots, including the newly announced parts depot, which will be operational 24/7 to cater to the diversified needs of Bombardier operators.
Bombardier is taking bolder strides to put its customers first by regionalizing both Customer Services & Support (CS&S) teams for business and commercial aircraft. Both teams will have three Directors of Customer Support dedicated to one of the three regions: The Americas; Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States; and the Asia Pacific region. The addition of regionally focused Customer Support Directors will further enhance the ability to make quick decisions and drive stronger performance. Most importantly, this regionalized approach will allow for the new RSO and parts depot in Johannesburg to work closely with the other offices in the same time zone, such as Munich, as well as parts facilities in Dubai and Frankfurt.
These new additions are a part of Bombardier's customer support network that now has a total of 15 RSOs and 11 parts facilities. Bombardier operates RSOs in Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, and most recently, in South Africa. Bombardier also operates two parts distribution hubs in Chicago, Illinois and Frankfurt, Germany and nine parts depots in UK, Dubai, Brazil, Singapore, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Australia and South Africa.
About Bombardier
Bombardier is the world's only manufacturer of both planes and trains. Looking far ahead while delivering today, Bombardier is evolving mobility worldwide by answering the call for more efficient, sustainable and enjoyable transportation everywhere. Our vehicles, services and, most of all, our employees are what make us a global leader in transportation.
Bombardier is headquartered in Montreal, Canada. Our shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BBD) and we are listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America Indexes. In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012, we posted revenues of $16.8 billion. News and information are available at www.bombardier.com or follow us on Twitter @Bombardier.
