MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - April 4, 2014) - Bombardier Aerospace hosted 152 business aircraft owners and operators and 25 suppliers and collaborators at the Intercontinental Dallas Hotel in Dallas, Texas on April 1-3, 2014 for the latest installment of their Maintenance and Operations (M&O) Conference. Attendees shared ideas and met fellow peers and dedicated members of Bombardier's Customer Services Team.
Through its 40 sessions, the packed agenda addressed specific flight, maintenance and operational realities. In addition to learning how to maximize the dispatch availability of their Bombardier fleet, attendees took advantage of operational sessions and roundtable discussions and interacted with Bombardier experts. The event gathered owners, operators, suppliers and collaborators from all over North America to learn about the latest improvements during a combined 85 hours of technical and operational sessions individually tailored to each of Bombardier's Learjet, Challenger and Global aircraft platforms.
During the conference, attendees learned about Bombardier's new Customer Response Team (CRT) aircraft, which is dedicated to resolving Aircraft on Ground (AOG) events by transporting technicians and delivering parts directly to customers within the continental United States. The CRT aircraft is the latest addition to Bombardier's growing onsite, mobile and AOG support services. It joins the opening of new Regional Support Offices, Parts Depots and Service Centres, as well as the expansion of regional support teams, all with the singular goal of bringing support closer to customers.
"Growing our service and support network and investing in customer satisfaction are top priorities for us and our customers," said Andy Nureddin, Vice-President, Customer Services & Support, Business Aircraft. "We have made major strides in bringing support to our customers' doorsteps and our Customer Response Team is a glowing example of this commitment."
At one of the conference sessions, Bombardier unveiled further details regarding the Challenger 605 MAX Program. In addition to reducing customers' Direct Maintenance Costs (DMC), the Challenger 605 MAX Program continues to improve No Fault Found (NFF) rates and increase dispatch availability through increases in Mean Time between Unscheduled Removals (MTBUR) of select components. The Challenger 605 MAX program's launch further demonstrates Bombardier's commitment to solidifying the Challenger 605 as a world-class leader well into the future and better positions Bombardier as the number one choice for aftermarket services and support.
The Challenger 605 MAX Program builds on the impressive success of the Challenger 300 MAX Program. Under the Challenger 300 MAX Program, which was launched less than two years ago, the company has already installed over 4,700 components on some 350 Challenger 300 aircraft at virtually no cost to customers.
Bombardier Aerospace continues to lead the way in reducing direct maintenance costs for its business aircraft operators with the introduction of Evolved Maintenance Programs for the Learjet 40, Learjet 45, Challenger 300, and Global aircraft. Through this proactive initiative, maintenance intervals for hourly tasks and monthly checks are increased by as much as 50 per cent or more, which results in considerable labour hour cost savings over the lifetime of the aircraft. The company also plans to roll out Evolved Maintenance Programs for the Challenger 604 and Challenger 605 aircraft in July this year.
Most recently, through this Evolved Maintenance Program, the company has substantially lowered Learjet 40 and Learjet 45 maintenance costs. In addition to improving direct maintenance costs and dispatch availability, the program is allowing participating aircraft to experience a combined 20,000 labour hour savings over the next five years for aircraft registered in Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) regions.
Bombardier Customer Services continues to put its customers first in its upcoming All Series Operators Conference and Tradeshow in Orlando, Florida. From April 28 to May 1, Bombardier will host over 327 representatives from commercial aircraft operators from around the world. For more information, please visit http://events.aero.bombardier.com/.
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, 2013, we posted revenues of $18.2 billion. News and information are available at bombardier.com or follow us on Twitter @Bombardier.
