In the perennial effort to keep customers so happy with their aircraft that they stay with the brand when they move up, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have to spend enormous resources on post-delivery support. Every year, the OEMs’ product support organizations grow in sophistication and capability, and the march of technology allows OEMs to be more proactive than ever to solve customer problems.
Of course, with added technology comes added complexity, and it’s interesting this year to see more complaints about modern avionics and electronics-based systems. It is also interesting to see that most OEMs are building more factoryowned facilities and allowing more authorized service centers to open, all in an effort to make sure service is available for customers. This is increasingly the case with facilities in China and even India, where significant numbers of new aircraft are headed. Product support is clearly a worldwide need, and the OEMs that embrace this will be at the head of the pack.
Each year, AIN surveys qualified readers for their opinions about the service provided by OEMs (see facing page for survey methodology). While opinion surveys are somewhat subjective, the results point to interesting views of the OEMs’ support efforts and specific elements of those efforts.
