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Bombardier Commercial Aircraft has announced that Air Philippines Corporation, operator of Philippine Airlines affiliate airline PAL Express, has signed an eight-year Smart Parts agreement to provide component management for the airline’s 12 new, dual-class Q400 aircraft.
“We selected Bombardier’s Smart Parts program to support the component management requirements for our new Q400 fleet so we can focus on providing quality passenger service on short, inter-island routes while increasing our competitiveness by offering jet cabin comfort on a turboprop aircraft,” said Bonifacio U. Sam, president of PAL Express.
The agreement involves comprehensive component maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, access to a strategically located spare parts exchange pool, and on-site inventories based at the airline’s main hubs of operation in the Philippines.
“The steady growth in the number of operators who are relying on us to support them with component management solutions is encouraging and reflects the benefits they are gaining via our Smart Parts program,” said Todd Young, vice-president and general manager, Customer Services and Q400 Aircraft Program, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft.
“Our Smart Parts program furnishes our operators with cost predictability and superior parts availability, and is exceedingly adaptable to meet our customers’ varied business models. It is one of the many services available under the portfolio of the Bombardier FlightAdvantage.”
Philippine Airlines signed a firm order for five Q400 aircraft in December 2016 and exercised its purchase rights for another seven turboprops during the 2017 Paris International Air Show.
On July 20, 2017, Bombardier and Philippine Airlines celebrated the delivery of the first 86-seat Q400 aircraft during a special ceremony at Bombardier’s facility in Toronto, where the turboprops are manufactured.
That aircraft, which is the world’s first dual-class, 86-seat turboprop, started revenue service on July 31, 2017, operating under the PAL Express livery.
