Virgin Atlantic has appointed Bii.aero to oversee the consignment and storage process of its large surplus inventory of B747-400, A340-600 and A330-200 assets now that the airline no longer operates these fleets of aircraft. The material covers all ATA chapters and includes engines, APUs, and avionics. Virgin Atlantic is the latest airline to consign its inventory to Bii as the company augments its portfolio of new and used serviceable material to meet global demand. Bii will store, manage, market the material to secure revenue from the excess stock. The material is desirable, already certified and ready-to-go. Bii will sell, exchange and loan the parts, in accordance with customer requirements.
Martyn Haines, head of Supply Chain & Commercial at Virgin Atlantic, said “We were keen to find a partner that would prioritise our material and be in a position to pro-actively reach the market to gain revenue from the stock quickly. Having a support company like Bii that will dedicate staff and facilities to make it happen as a priority was essential to meet our objectives. We like their combination of fresh-thinking underpinned by a depth of industry experience.”
“Having stock available from the shelf is one of Bii’s key goals going forward,” says Francis Cradock, CEO. “This agreement works perfectly from both companies’ perspectives and harmonises with our existing consignment business for engines and 737 teardown material with other partners.”
The stock will transition across 90 days from Virgin Atlantic’s Cardiff stores to Bii’s warehousing facility close to LGW. After inspection by Bii, a small percentage of unserviceable material will require re-tagging – this will be managed by Bii’s in-house repair management team through audited MRO shops worldwide.
“We’re really delighted to welcome Virgin Atlantic to the Bii stock hub. We’ve worked hard to establish Bii as one of the key ‘go to’ sources for material handling -whether it is supporting supply contracts with kit building and supply, which we have been doing for a number of years, or marketing their excess materials,” adds Cradock. “We are looking at many new ways to support customers, like Virgin, including selling material with in-house stock solutions, or providing the expertise to sell directly from airlines’ own warehouses and locations. We know we can add value and deliver sustainable revenues by effectively marketing their materials while they focus on running the airline itself.”