Bombardier will boost its customer service capacity in the Middle East to meet an expected surge in deliveries over the next decade.
"Our growth expectations for this region are enormous," says Andy Nureddin, vice-president customer services and support for the Canadian airframer's business aircraft division. "We have in our plans to increase capacity."
Bombardier's main authorised service partner for the Middle East is ExecuJet in Dubai. The manufacturer recently upgraded the office it shares there with the service provider to a regional support centre, where two field representatives, a customer liaison pilot, a parts logistics agent and a regional manager will be based.
It is the second such centre for Bombardier Business Aircraft - the other is in Mumbai, India - and it allows the manufacturers' representatives to solve customers' problems in real time, says Nureddin.
However, Nureddin maintains that any expansion of the service network will be strictly controlled. "You cannot outsource the concept of service. We hold our authorised facilities very close to us," he says. "We have learned that the only way to expand is to make sure everyone prospers, so we are not going to flood the market."
One option for Bombardier is the fast-growing market of Qatar. ExecuJet said at the show on Monday that it plans to open an aircraft management and charter operation in the emirate early next year, and will follow that eventually with a fixed-base operation offering line maintenance.
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Source: Flight Daily News
