Details of Galaxy's European service centre, as revealed to EBAN prior to Farnborough, have been released. The company has also announced its 'guaranteed reliability programme' for the Galaxy business jet.

To be developed in cooperation with Altenrhein-based FFA, the Swiss service centre will maintain a spare parts inventory (worth $6 million) and will distribute order directly on Galaxy's behalf.

FFA has been acquired by Lions Air, which has recently purchased two Galaxys and is the manufacturer's biggest European customer. "Switzerland is itself home to a growing fleet of Galaxy business jets (four by the end of the year) and is well situated geographically to support operators elsewhere in Europe," said Brian Barents, Galaxy ceo. He went on to state that the centre was part of a growing commitment to after-sales service on Galaxy's behalf.

The Swiss centre will be the first outside of the company's main inventory location in Fort Worth, Texas.

Meanwhile, Galaxy's programme for purchasers of business jets, unveiled recently, will guarantee a rapid response to AOG situations and provide a back-up aeroplane if the customer's is not ready within 72 hours. It will apply to all new Galaxys for the first two years after purchase.

"The Galaxy is a modern aeroplane, designed for high reliability and ease of maintenance. Nevertheless, no aircraft operates flawlessly all the time. We want customers to have maximum assurance that we stand behind this aircraft," said Barents. "We will also continue to offer our cost of operations guarantee - that the operating costs of the Galaxy will not exceed $850 per hour over the first five years or 2,000 hours of operations."