Embraer Reinforces its Customer Support and Service Capabilities for Africa

Embraer is reinforcing its Commercial Aviation customer support network in Africa, with the appointment of Airlink as its new Embraer Authorized Service Center (EASC) for the ERJ 145 family. The agreement also includes the establishment of an Embraer local spare parts distribution center in Johannesburg, serving ERJ 145 family customers in the region.

"We are very pleased to reinforce our long established partnership with Airlink, which has been an ERJ 135 jets operator since 2001. With their extensive experience on Embraer aircraft, Airlink will play an important role in supporting the growing fleet of Company aircraft in Africa. This new partnership will bring high standards of maintenance, repair and operation services, along with spare parts inventories, close to our current and future customers in the region," said Johann Bordais, Vice President Support & Services, Europe Middle-East & Africa, Commercial Aviation.

Both maintenance and distribution centres will be located at Airlink facilities, at Johannesburg O.R. Tambo International Airport. This unique logistics platform in South Africa provides valued additional warehouse capacity, complementing Embraer's existing Distribution Center in France and improving the parts and components availability and delivery process, especially in AOG (Aircraft on Ground) situations, throughout the African Continent.

In addition to this Service Center, Embraer is improving its training capacity in the region with the introduction of a new flight simulator for the ERJ 145 family in partnership with FlightSafety.

"We see strong growth opportunities in African markets and are swiftly investing in expanding our customer support presence in the region based on three platforms: MRO, spare parts and training," said Mathieu Duquesnoy, Vice President Middle-East & Africa – Commercial Aviation. "The Embraer ERJ 145 and the E-Jet Families have received a positive reception in this region and we see a strong potential for 70 to 120-seat aircraft. Our pledge is not only to offer state of the art, reliable aircraft, but, more importantly, strong and local support to our customers."