Jazz propels Bombardier’s Q400 Smart Parts program to new heights
Canadian carrier signs long-term Q400 Smart Parts agreement for 15 Q400 NextGen turboprops to help boost dispatch reliability and cost predictability
Aerospace announced today that Canadian carrier Jazz Aviation LP (“Jazz”) of Halifax, Nova Scotia is the latest airline to enroll in its Q400 Smart Parts cost protection program. In the past few months alone, five prominent airlines worldwide have signed customized long-term Smart Parts agreements for their Q400 aircraft fleet.
Smart Parts provides a broad spectrum of options to help airlines manage their operational and parts maintenance costs. The nine-year agreement with Jazz is tailored to the airline’s need for convenient access to parts and cost efficient inventory management for its fleet of Q400 NextGenturboprop airliners, from entry-into-service through to 2020.
“This Smart Parts agreement further strengthens the strong and productive relationship that has existed between Jazz and Bombardier over many years,” said Gary Martin, Vice President, Sales, Marketing & Service Programs, Customer Services, Bombardier Aerospace. “Today, more than ever, airlines need full control over their operational budgets. No one is better positioned than Bombardier to help ensure their Q400 NextGenfleet operates with the highest level of reliability and the lowest lifecycle costs.”
Jazz, which flies Bombardier aircraft exclusively and is the world’s largest operator of Dash 8/Q-Series aircraft, accepted Bombardier’s milestone 400th Q400 aircraft in June 2012. The carrier’s current fleet includes 80 Dash 8/Q-Series turboprops and 51 CRJ Series regional jets. Jazz is the second largest airline in Canada in terms of fleet size and number of routes flown and forms an integral part of Air Canada’s domestic and Canada-U.S. transborder market presence and strategy.
“The Smart Parts program gives us a leg up by allowing us to introduce a new aircraft type to our fleet without the typical capital outlay for spare parts inventory acquisition and warehousing,” said Richard Steer, Vice President, Maintenance & Engineering, Jazz Aviation LP. “With Smart Parts, we can count on inventory being available when and where we need it, plus we will be able to predict our component maintenance costs per flight hour over the next nine years. That’s a winning proposition for Jazz and its customers.”
Currently, Q400 aircraft operators spanning the globe, including India’s SpiceJet, Eurolot of Poland, Luxembourg’s Luxair, Republic Airlines and the Department of Justice of the U.S., and Japan Air Commuter have selected the increasingly popular Q400 Smart Parts program. The pioneering Smart Parts program has been providing cost protection and budget predictability for Bombardier’s business aircraft customers for more than 25 years. There are currently approximately 1,200 Bombardier business aircraft enrolled, covering over 80,000 components. Bombardier introduced the Smart Parts program for its Q400 aircraft in March 2008.