Bombardier has announced a Preferred Service Provider agreement with GE aviation through which GE will power Bombardier’s cockpit and cabin connectivity solutions. This is a first step toward the launch of Smart Link Plus, Bombardier’s connected aircraft program. Launching new year, Smart Link Plus will help Bombardier customer drive their operations and maintenance decisions by leveraging fleet-wide-data.
The Smart Link plus box – a health monitoring unit “smart box” capable of generating key data for customers, will be provided at no charge to Challenger and Global customers. This box will gather data from the aircraft and engines, aggregate the fleet data for analysis at Bombardier to draw actionable insights on potential failures to provide early warning and better schedule reliability.
The Smart Link Plus box will be available for installation on new aircraft, and for in-service aircraft at all Bombardier service centers free of charge. A key enabler for the Smart Link Plus vision will be through GE Aviation’s Digital Works services leveraging GE’s experience in data and analytics. Digital Works will support the operator including connectivity, cockpit communications, flight support, and safety applications.
“Bombardier business jet customers expect and deserve the latest and greatest technology advancements available and we are continuing to deliver a high level of sophistication,” said Jean-Christophe Gallagher, Vice President and General Manager, Customer Experience, Bombardier Business Aircraft. “Our new Smart Link Plus connected aircraft program will create fully connected aircraft, enabling customers to access key data and insights to help with decision-making and flight operations. We are excited to announce this for our in-service fleet as well as new aircraft. Coupled with our extensive global infrastructure expansion, this digital transformation is the next step in dramatically enhancing Bombardier’s customer service experience worldwide.”
The final stage of the program brings it to its apex: a fully connected aircraft that connects owners, maintenance crews, pilots and operators to data-enabled applications, while leveraging insights from the Bombardier fleet to unlock an unprecedented experience in one digital ecosystem, including future benefits such as aircraft predictive maintenance.
“This new relationship with Bombardier will help streamline customer service relationships by offering integrated connectivity service offerings and customer support,” said Andrew Coleman, Senior VP, Digital Solutions of GE Aviation. “We are honored to be the preferred partner of Bombardier to create advanced technologies to help connect the aircraft with flight operations and improve overall efficiencies and capabilities. Our work is centered around delighting our customers and delivering industry-leading levels of service.”
