Value Of Business Secured In 12 Months Reaches $54.5 From Seven Airlines

BAE Systems Regional Aircraft has won another contract for its rate-per-flying-hour aircraft spares support service to bring the total value of business from this service to $54.5 million over the past twelve months from seven airlines. The latest contract is with Eastern Airways of the UK and covers a three-year support deal for the airline’s fleet of 16 Prestwick-built Jetstream 41 turboprop airliners. Eastern Airways operates over 800 flights on a week on a comprehensive network of scheduled domestic and international services and private charter services. BAE Systems has provided support for Eastern Airways’ Jetstream 41 operation for the past 11 years.

The Eastern Airways contract comes only three weeks after BAE Systems won a similar three-year extension to its support contract from Braathens Technical AB of Sweden. The Braathens deal covers support for its subsidiary airline Malmö Aviation’s fleet of 12 Avro RJ regional jetliners. BAE Systems has been providing this type of service to Braathens Technical/Malmö Aviation for 14 years.

BAE Systems is one of the industry pioneers of rate-per-flying-hour support, having first offered this service some 20 years ago in support of the BAE Systems-built fleet of regional airliners – the turboprop fleet of 18/19-seat Jetstream 31/32, the 29-seat Jetstream 41 and the 64-seat or freighter variant ATP and the BAe 146/Avro RJ regional jetliners.

Under these types of contracts BAE Systems provides a totally customised rotable spares support service which, for an agreed monthly payment based upon the number of flight hours carried out by an airline, results in BAE Systems taking care of the airline’s spares inventory, logistics and repairs. The priority is to keep the airline’s business running smoothly by providing a first-class support service, allowing the airline to concentrate on its flight operations.

The Prestwick-based team has amassed considerable experience in this role which involves taking responsibility for hundreds of spare parts in each airline, ensuring they are always compliant with regulations, managing on-site spares inventory, making sure that repairs/overhauls are carried out in good time, having a strong worldwide logistics operation and a robust management oversight of the manufacturing supply chain.

In the past twelve months, in addition to the new Eastern and Braathens contracts, BAE Systems has also won rate-per-flying-hour business from Swiss International Airlines, covering its fleet of 20 Avro RJs, and leading European regional cargo carrier West Atlantic to support 44 ATP turboprop freighters. It has also secured similar contracts from Titan Airways of the UK, TNT Airways S.A. based in Liege Belgium, and Cobham Aviation Services in Australia, supporting total fleet numbers of over 20 BAe 146/Avro RJ jetliners.

“We are recognized in the commercial aviation industry as being one of the foremost and experienced suppliers of these types of very specialist and demanding support services," said Sean McGovern, Business Director Support for BAE Systems Regional Aircraft at Prestwick. "Many of our customers come back for repeat business and we have supported many of them for a considerable number of years.”

(BA146/Avro RJ image from file)

FMI: www.baesystems.com