Four companies become sole recommended sources for crews,
flight ops support and maintenance
Airbus Corporate Jetliner (ACJ) family customers are being
offered access to a newly designated network of service centers
that specialize in executive and private aviation, complementing
Airbus Customer Services' existing worlwide network of spares,
training facilities and field service teams.
The new service center network will initially comprise
Associated Air Center of Dallas (TX), Jet Aviation with bases in
various cities across the world, Qatar Airways of Doha in Qatar,
and TAM Jatos Executivos of Sao Paulo, Brazil. All four of the
initial members were announced yesterday at NBAA 2004 and three of
them signed the contract to become members of the network at the
press conference called to make the announcement. The network will
grow with the additions of others in the future.
The new service centers will be able to organize the provision
of a variety of services -- similar to those provided by fixed base
operators (FBO's) -- up to flight and cabin crews, flight
operations support and maintenance. As private and business
aviation specialists, that all have a deep knowledge and experience
of this market.
The service center network thus offers a solution to Airbus ACJ
Family operators, by going beyond what is already offered by FBO's
and MRO's. It does this by providing anything from simple items --
such as catering -- to acting as a single point-of-contact for
everything -- including procuring and following up heavy
maintenance.
Airbus' new service center network also offers customers a more
personalized type of service, as well as a better means for both
potential and existing customers to plan and estimate the costs of
their operations and maintenance.
The service centers will have full access to all Airbus
services, including the provision of technical advice, AOG help
through Airtac, and the company's worlwide network for field
service teams, spares and training centers.
They build on the extra support that Airbus ACJ Family owners
already enjoy from partnerships with organizations such as United
Services.
All of the new Airbus-approved service centers specialize in
business aviation and will be continuously monitored. Airbus A320
family aircraft benefit from maintenance-friendly features, such as
large access doors to aid component replacement, and centralized
maintenance to aid testing and troubleshooting, giving them the
best maintenance costs in their class.
Airbus' customer services organization is dedicated to helping
customers to get the best out of their aircraft. It currently helps
more than 3,200 Airbus aircraft -- including over 2,250 A320 Family
aircraft -- flying reliably and safely around the world, 24 hours a
day, seven days a week, in every continent and timezone.