Product Support Survey 2024 - Aircraft

BJT sister publication AIN’s product support survey for 2024 saw Bombardier rise to the top of all manufacturers with a full point improvement from 2023, when it ranked last in the business jet sector with a score of 7.6. The company’s 8.6 rating this year resulted from a strong showing in several categories, including a tie for first place with Dassault in warranty fulfillment with a score of 9.0.

Also seeing gains in support rankings in 2024 were Embraer and Dassault, with each improving by 0.4 points in the overall average from 2023. Both had strong service center ratings, reflecting their concerted effort to grow support capacity.

Atop the turboprop ratings, Pilatus continued to score among the highest overall in the survey. However, its 8.4 rating tied Embraer’s in the overall average, two points behind Bombardier.

While virtually every company surveyed last year reported negative effects of supply chain constraints, several reported some improvement in that area in 2024. Efforts to relieve the pressure took the form of better communication and hands-on help for suppliers, increasing inventory levels, and maintaining closer ties with teardown agencies to help supplement their parts inventories. Finally, continued pressure from increased demand for MRO services saw companies add still more square footage for MRO operations and parts warehousing.

However, cost of parts continued to be a sticking point for many of the OEMs in the survey. As with last year, that category brought in the lowest scores.

Rolland Vincent of Texas-based Rolland Vincent Associates—the data provider for the AIN survey—noted that improved competitive conditions and easing of supply chain constraints accounted for much of the overall improvement in scores. 

Finally, while staffing shortages broadly accounted for adverse effects, some of the OEMs reported more success in recruiting technicians than others.

First-place finisher Bombardier, for example, benefitted from apprenticeship programs at facilities in London, Singapore, and Melbourne, Australia, to ensure a flow of new hires trained to address any workforce shortages. A new program in Wichita supported with grants by the state of Kansas promises further capacity, as has its direct development of needed infrastructure.