Air Canada and Premier Aviation Overhaul Center Inc. (Premier Aviation) have finalized a five-year exclusive contract following the letter of intent signed in 2012 for the provision of airframe heavy maintenance support on Air Canada's fleet of 45 Embraer E-190 aircraft. The scheduled heavy maintenance will be performed at Premier's maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility at the Trois-Rivieres Airport.
Premier Aviation is now also performing "B" Checks (long overhaul) compared to only "N" Checks (partial overhaul) as originally defined when the work began. To date, seventy-two visits have been successfully completed with work volumes increasing since May 2013 when Air Canada consolidated a second production line with Premier Aviation.
Ronnie Di Bartolo, Premier Aviation's President and CEO stated "On behalf of Premier Aviation, I thank Air Canada for its faith in us. Our focus on cost-effective performance is unwavering and Air Canada`s commitment to Premier Aviation represents a recognition of the hard work and dedication of our entire team. This relationship is a significant step in our growth strategy in Quebec and throughout North America and we appreciate Air Canada's confidence in our company."
Air Canada's Vice President, Maintenance and Engineering, Alan Butterfield, added, "We are very pleased with the work performed by Premier Aviation on Air Canada's Embraer fleet. In continuing to expand our partnership with Premier Aviation we are assuring Air Canada of a quality solution for our E-190 maintenance needs through Premier's proven performance and commitment".
Premier Aviation's Trois-Rivieres facility was the first of its three North American heavy maintenance and paint facilities and is its Corporate Headquarters. Premier's other operations are located in Windsor, Ontario and Rome, New York, each of which can accommodate wide-body aircraft. Premier Aviation's presence in Canada and the United States provides customers with widespread access to quality airframe heavy maintenance and aircraft painting.
About Premier Aviation
Premier Aviation is a full-service aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) and paint Services Company owned and operated by Mr. Ronnie Di Bartolo. Launched in 2002, the company acquired a hangar in Rome, New York, in Q4 2010, expanded its headquarters facility in Q2 2011 and in Q3 2012 opened a new hangar in Windsor, Ontario.
About Air Canada
Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 180 destinations on five continents. Canada's flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2013 served more than 35 million customers. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 60 Canadian cities, 49 destinations in the United States and 73 cities in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico and South America. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,269 airports in 193 countries. Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax that ranked Air Canada in a worldwide survey of more than 18 million airline passengers as Best Airline in North America in 2013 for the fourth consecutive year. For more information, please visit: www.aircanada.com.
