About 20 years ago, NetJets asked for a program that would make maintenance costs predictable and easy to administer. Our answer was FalconCare, a pay-by-the-hour program that acted as an insurance policy against unexpected and unwelcome costs. It also cut down on paperwork, with just one simple bill a month.
We quickly figured out that what works for NetJets could work for a lot of smaller flight departments. And it did. I can think of situations where FalconCare saved the “marriage” between operator and OEM.
With FalconCare there are no itemized bills to dispute. There are no palpitations brought on by unexpected large costs, or the thought of forwarding them to Accounting. There’s no worry about busting the budget. Also, at resale time enrollment in FalconCare indicates that an aircraft has been well cared for.
One management company was convinced they were paying less by paying for maintenance and parts à la carte. We went back six years to see if we could confirm or refute their belief. In fact, FalconCare would have cost them less!
FalconCare saves the operator money in various ways. One is coverage for equipment obsolescence. If a component can no longer be repaired because a vendor has stopped supporting it, we’ll upgrade it with a newer design.
FalconCare covers all sorts of potentially expensive things—the dispatch of AOG Go Teams, structures, even tires. In fact, with our new FalconCare Elite offer, you do not even have to change a tire, we give you an exchange wheel assembly to speed you on your way.
We’ve compared FalconCare coverage with similar programs from the competition and concluded that we offer the best program on the market with the most comprehensive coverage. We’re proud of that. It’s part of our “whatever it takes” spirit.
Recently, we created a new tier for FalconCare, called FalconCare Essential. It’s lower cost because labor is not included. That won’t work for everyone, but it works beautifully for customers who accomplish most maintenance in-house. We listened to their requirements and tailored a program for them. As customer needs evolve, we’ll evolve FalconCare to meet them.
Over the years, we’ve enrolled more than 500 aircraft in FalconCare. There are still a fair number of eligible planes–Falcon 900s, 2000s, 7Xs and 8Xs—that have yet to enroll. Post C-check is a good time to do so with no entry fee.
And if there’s a way to make FalconCare work even better for you, let us know. We are always evolving FalconCare to bring you more value for the best price.
Fair winds,
Jean Kayanakis
Senior Vice President, Worldwide Falcon Customer Service & Service Center Network
Dassault Aviation