BAE Systems unique Spares Co-op scheme, under which its airline customers earn significant loyalty rebates if they spend more than an agreed sum on aircraft spares during the year, has taken off with nearly £400,000 of rebates issued to seven operators. The largest amount, worth some £186,000, went to Brussels Airlines who exceeded their target spend with BAE Systems Regional Aircraft on spares for its 26-strong Avro RJ jetliner fleet during 2010. John Stevens, head of customer support for BAE Systems Regional Aircraft noted: “The amount spent by Brussels Airlines on aircraft spares from us was higher than initially agreed with the airline. This reflects our continued focus on ensuring we understand our customer requirements against a backdrop of an increasingly competitive market for airline spares. The fact that Brussels elected to spend more with us totally vindicates the Spares Co-op philosophy. The Spares Co-op scheme was started by BAE Systems in 2008 and focuses on the continuing spares business. It rewards customer loyalty for continued spares spend with generous credits allocated at the end of the financial year. During 2010 ten of the highest spending customers for spares elected to join the programme. The programme is fully customised to suit clients’ budgets with rewards based on either fixed or variable rates. “In essence, the system is much like a frequent flyer programme. It involves our Customer Support Managers sitting down at the beginning of the financial year with the customer and jointly assessing what they are likely to spend over the twelve months. As the customer buys spares throughout the year they progress on a sliding scale of increasing rebates. Once they hit or go beyond their target they earn bigger rewards,” Stevens added.