Bombardier has achieved a big boost in the availability of spare parts to business aircraft operators in the Middle East with the recent opening of a new depot here in Dubai. The new facility, operated through a joint venture with parts logistics specialist Transworld Aviation, is located in the Jebel Ali Free Zone and so is far closer to the new Al Maktoum International Airport than the Canadian airframer’s former parts depot at Dubai International Airport.
The new depot, which can also support operators in Europe and Africa, already carries some 6,900 parts–almost 50 percent more than the 4,700 items stored at the previous depot, which was located at ExecuJet Aviation’s Dubai International FBO. According to Diane De Souza, Bombardier Business Aircraft’s vice president for parts services, the new facility has plenty of room to expand the inventory. Located six miles from Al Maktoum International Airport, the depot operated by Transworld 24/7 features radio frequency inventory tracking to speed up distribution and restocking.
In July, Bombardier upgraded its parts center at Germany’s Frankfurt International Airport from a depot to a hub for the entire Europe, Middle East and Africa region. This means that operators no longer have to depend on the OEM’s hub in Chicago and allows them to get and return parts more quickly.
“Given the expansion of our worldwide fleet of aircraft, we have developed a decentralized distribution model for parts based on hubs in Chicago, Frankfurt and Singapore,” De Souza told AIN. “We want to get closer to our customers by increasing the number of parts we have available worldwide.”
The new Frankfurt hub also allows Bombardier to receive any parts for its aircraft directly from vendors. The expanded facility is now serving more than 800 different operators and the number of shipments from it has more than doubled over the past 12 months.
Bombardier also recently established its main customer service team for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region in its facility in Belfast, Northern Ireland. This means they are operating in the right time zone for operators in those parts of the world. The manufacturer also has a regional support office in Dubai, with a team including a customer liaison pilot, a regional support manager and support representatives.
