South Africa’s airlink is adding 11 Embraer ERJ 140 jets to its fleet. This will increase the number of Embraer regional jets the airline operates to 30. The airline has also extended its current Flight Hour Pool Program contract for another eight years and expanded it to incorporate the ERJ 140s. The Pool Program covers more than 350 distinct components for Airlink’s 30 ERJ aircraft and delivers support to the airline 24/7.
“Airlink is a successful and rapidly growing business. The addition of a further 11 ERJ aircraft is a major vote of confidence in the platform’s capability, as well as in its suitability for the expanding African market. The decision to extend the existing Pool contract is a clear demonstration that the program delivers what customers need – aircraft availability and competitive operating costs”, said Simon Newitt, Vice President, Africa, Latin America & Portugal, Embraer Commercial Aviation.
Rodger Foster, CEO of Airlink, said, “The Embraer Pool Program is the most complete solution available to support our growing fleet of Embraer regional jets. It’s a low investment model that delivers a high return in availability and costs, giving us the flexibility we need as we continue to grow. Our partnership with Embraer is a key enabler of our strategy, and allows us to concentrate on our core business.”
Embraer has been present in the African continent since 1978, when the first Bandeirante turboprop started operation. Currently, there are 127 Embraer aircraft in operation with 39 airlines in 19 African countries, performing a major part in connectivity.
The Pool Program, which is now supporting more than 50% of ERJ customers worldwide, is devised to minimize airlines’ up-front investment in high-value repairable inventories and resources, while taking advantage of Embraer’s technical expertise and its gigantic component service provider network. The outcome is significant savings on repair and inventory costs, and a cut in warehousing space requirements that virtually eliminates the need for repair management resources, and ultimately, delivering assured performance levels.
