Every hour an aircraft spends on the ground at an MRO facility is an hour it is not supporting its owner/operator in the air. MROs are constantly under pressure to complete refurbishment, scheduled and unscheduled maintenance to ensure availability, and get aircraft out of the hangar and into the skies. The constant demand for slots at maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) shops continues to grow as new regulatory mandates are introduced, acquisitions reduce MRO availability as large operators buy up independent shops or new systems need upgrading.

When it comes to connectivity, we understand that Gogo has an essential role to play in reducing the pinch points for our expanding global network of MRO partners. Gogo’s relationship with our trusted dealer and MRO network is much more than a box of couriered components and a phone number.

As our representatives in their respective markets, we understand it is our responsibility to support them, and our mutual customers through every phase of the sales, installation, and subsequent entry into service process.

Reliability.

This is why, in tandem with our connectivity partners, we engineer our products to be reliable, a quality that our MRO partners recognize. For them, it translates into predictable installation requirements and guaranteed support should they hit a snag or their customer encounters an issue.

Supporting MROs and ensuring they enjoy a high-quality experience with Gogo product that is reliable and delivers on its promise benefits us, them, and their customers.

Support

Our connectivity customers have come to expect our 24/7/365 support internationally. No system is 100% reliable, and for that rare occasion when coverage is degraded, a Gogo engineer is just one call away, speaking their language, and ready to solve any problem. The same is true for our MRO partners. We’re there, working alongside them, whether they are installing an air-to-ground system for the hundredth time or developing a new Gogo Galileo STC.

Responsiveness

At Gogo we are connectivity experts; we live and breathe it. At the same time, we realize that our product portfolio is increasingly complex. Some of us might admit that we’re a little addicted to the acronyms and terms we speak every day, but we also realize that Ku, LEO, latency, Ka, ATG, LX5 and all our other favorites are largely irrelevant to how the passenger or aircraft crew experience connectivity. The owner or operator simply wants their aircraft in the air and connected. They aren’t interested in why the installation process has been delayed, they don’t want to know why the connection from their recently installed equipment has dropped. They just want it to work, always. This is why timeliness in delivery and problem-solving are also key to our relationship with our MRO partners. The immediate response – we have a three ring policy – is undeniably priceless, ask anybody who has endlessly circled a telephone tree.

Keeping it plane simple

Business and VIP aviation customers expect the same connectivity in the air as they take for granted on the ground. Today, we are closer to that paradigm than ever before, and the way we achieve it is undeniably complex. Helping our dealers and MRO partners explain the connectivity experience without the complexity is therefore another critical aspect of the sales and support process. The aircraft owner is likely far more interested in being able to conduct a consistent, reliable Teams call than they are in knowing there is a Ku-band Gogo Galileo antenna on the roof, connecting to Eutelsat OneWeb’s LEO satellite network, and an AVANCE LX5 box in the avionics bay. Translating the tech to practical application is essential for an enhanced experience and we remain consistently committed to supporting our MROs in this objective.

Future proofing

Just as connectivity has become more complex, so has the market, with customers offered more choice than ever before. As well as relying on us to deliver the highest quality aviation-grade equipment, our dealer and MRO partners expect the systems they install for their customers to be future-proofed. Neither Gogo nor its partners engender loyalty by promising the ‘best’ connectivity today, only to require a ‘rip and replace’ 18 months later. Owners and operators want to minimize aircraft downtime for structural and cabin alterations, and effectively manage their maintenance budgets, we build this into all that we do for our MROs, and their customers.

Careful curation

This is one of the reasons we carefully select MRO partners with the capability necessary not only to install our solutions, but also to effectively explain the complexities of modern connectivity to their customers. Easily overlooked, but vitally important, is the personal aspect of that relationship – business aviation is a small but global industry where human attributes contribute to building reputation, trust, and transparency, and are held in high regard. Each of our MROs has the technical competency, as well as the qualities we regard as vital in maintaining relationships. At Gogo, we believe the close relationships we’ve built with dealers and MROs translate into a better experience for our common customers.