Bombardier Boosts Support in North America, Europe

Bombardier is adding a line maintenance station in Paris and is boosting mobile service capabilities in North America, as the manufacturer remains focused on ambitious expansion plans for its customer-support network.

The line maintenance station at Le Bourget Airport is the seventh such facility that Bombardier has opened in the past 18 months, the company said, adding that the facility will provide enhanced services, including wheel and battery shops, to the growing customer base in Europe. Technicians there are certified to support Learjet 60s, all Challenger 300 and 600 series, and the Global series, including the new 7500. The center will provide both scheduled and unscheduled line maintenance and AOG support.

Related Article

Bombardier Adds Pair of New Globals

With a wing reconfiguration and new Rolls-Royce engines, the Global 5500 and 6500 will fly faster and farther than the Global 5000 and 6000.

In North America, meanwhile, Bombardier added five mobile response team (MRT) trucks this month, increasing the total to 30 worldwide. The newest additions are based in San Francisco and Santa Ana, California; Las Vegas, Nevada; West Palm Beach, Florida; and Scottsdale, Arizona. Bombardier said the trucks are strategically placed to enhance its reach throughout the U.S.

“With these investments, we are adding expertise and increasing accessibility to OEM support for our European and North American operators,” said Jean-Christophe Gallagher, vice president and general manager, customer experience, Bombardier Business Aircraft. “Our new line maintenance station will enhance the customer experience by offering our European operators maintenance options closer to home, while the addition of five new trucks will augment the North American efforts of our MRT.”

These expansions follow the groundbreaking in October of a $100 million, 300,000-square-foot service center at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport in Florida. Bombardier has invested heavily in its support efforts in recent years, as its fleet has grown to 4,800 aircraft worldwide. This has involved adding full centers, including at London Biggin Hill and Tianjin, China; increasing its mobile teams; bolstering parts availability capabilities; and hiring throughout the network. The company has made this push as it adopted the strategy of “bringing its planes back home.”

Joining the newest Paris facility are Bombardier line maintenance stations in London Luton, UK; Linz, Austria; Nice and Cannes, France; and Milan and Olbia, Italy. Along with the 30 MRT ground vehicles, Bombardier has based a Learjet 45 response airplane near its Chicago parts-distribution hub.