Airlink, the Southern African regional airline, has announced a spare parts inventory support agreement with Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer.
The deal covers Airlink’s fleet of over 65 Embraer ERJs and E-Jets as it becomes the first African customer to adopt the OEM’s Collaborative Inventory Planning (ECIP) management system.
The tailored programme is designed to optimise inventory levels and reduce operational costs for Airlink’s fleet, which operates throughout Southern and East Africa, Madagascar, and the remote islands of St Helena and Ascension in the South Atlantic.
ECIP offers fixed yearly pricing for parts that provides cost predictability, while data-driven weekly ordering recommendations, based on usage and stock levels, ensure optimised inventory. The programme also grants access to Embraer’s extensive materials management expertise and global logistics network.
Rodger Foster, Airlink’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, said the company was “joined at the hip” to Embraer as the biggest African operator of its regional jets.
“Impeccable product support is an imperative to continuously deliver safe and reliable service excellence, which is an Airlink mantra. We are ‘joined at the hip’ with Embraer, and this ECIP speaks volumes to mutual commitment to optimising the operational and economic performance of our fleet,” he stated.
Carlos Naufel, President and CEO, Embraer Services & Support, highlighted the strength of the partnership. “We will work even harder to help Airlink gain efficiency and reduce inventory costs in all operations through ECIP, a programme that offers the best-in-class performance customised to each inventory while providing access to Embraer’s global logistics network,” he said.
Photo: Embraer
An Embraer ERJ-135 in Airlink livery.
