Intelligence

Jet Aviation Increases Maintenance Network

Jet Aviation has signed a letter of intent with Kemp Development to open an MRO facility for Midcoast Aviation at the Ogden-Hinckley Airport in Utah. Midcoast is a subsidiary of Jet Aviation, which will operate a fixed-base operation (FBO) at the airport. The Midcoast MRO will feature 70,000 sq. ft. (6,500 m²) of hangars and workshops for heavy maintenance, component repair, refurbishment and painting services on mid- to large-cabin business jets. It will supplement Midcoast’s MRO sites in Cahokia, Ill. and Savannah Air Center in Savannah, Ga., which Jet Aviation acquired in January. Jet Aviation COO for the Americas Jim Ziegler says the Ogden facility, which will create up to 200 new jobs over the next two years, will allow Jet Aviation to "offer complete coast-to-coast MRO coverage for the U.S. market." The company is pursuing service center designations from major OEMs, and expects to have approvals in place by the end of this year. As part of the agreement, Jet Aviation will take over the existing Kemp Jet Services FBO, which comprises 51,000 sq. ft. of terminal, hangar and office space. Plans call for the facility to open in fall 2008.

In an unrelated development, Jet Aviation and Airod, an MRO provider in Malaysia, have signed an agreement to establish an FBO, line maintenance and AOG center at Subang Airport in Kuala Lumpur. The companies plan to negotiate a joint venture partnership, with approval projected in August. At that point, Airod and Jet Aviation will start offering maintenance services, as well as tenant space, to local and regional operators. The Subang facility will feature 52,000 sq. ft. of space for hangars, maintenance, repair shops and component overhaul and a 3,000 sq. ft. FBO. Jet Aviation EMEA & Asia COO André Wall says the Malaysian market is expected to double in the next two years and grow at 20 percent annually.

Hawker Beechcraft Services Phoenix Center Planned

Hawker Beechcraft Corp. (HBC) has announced its intentions to build a $14-million aircraft maintenance and service facility at the Phoenix – Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona. Hawker Beechcraft Services (HBS) will lease 5.1 acres at the site, using a newly constructed 26,000 sq. ft. hangar. The company plans to build another 20,000 sq. ft. hangar and 22,000 sq. ft. for offices and back shops. The facility will provide factory service for all Hawker Beechcraft aircraft. Future options include expanding up to 10.7 acres at Gateway, which is one of eight U.S. facilities where HBS intends to expand its maintenance and customer service offerings. In February, HBC unveiled plans to invest $14 million at its Indianapolis, Ind. service center. The network of HBS locations consists of 10 service centers in the U.S., Mexico and the U.K. The Phoenix-Mesa Gateway facility will generate up to 110 new jobs over the next 5 years, according to HBC.

Lufthansa Technik Completion Programs Expand

German maintenance provider Lufthansa Technik has announced progress on several recent initiatives. The company says it is on track with its completion program for the Airbus A318 Elite that includes a VIP cabin in 14- or 18-passenger configurations. Through mid-May 2008, Lufthansa had secured 11 completions contracts for the A318 Elite. "We are in negotiations for a number of additional aircraft," says Walter Heerdt, senior VP of marketing and sales, adding that the company has delivered three A318s and "are currently working on two other aircraft at our completion center in Hamburg." According to Heerdt, Lufthansa’s narrowbody completion lines are scheduled to continue operating at a very high workload until 2012. While the A318 completion program is standardized, varying choices in the material for seats, divans, carpets, bulkheads or ceilings allows customers to create an individualized interior.

Meanwhile, Lufthansa has obtained letters of commitment with unnamed VIP customers to outfit a second Boeing 747-8 and a 787. Both will be delivered by 2018. The contracts add to several completions agreements the company has signed, including for two Airbus A330s and two A340s for the German Government, two A330s for an undisclosed government operator and 14 aircraft for private customers — eight A318 Elites, three ACJs and three Boeing Business Jets.

In order to help meet demand for completions services in Berlin, Lufthansa Bombardier Aviation Services (LBAS) is seeking to hire technical support personnel for its VIP and executive jets operation at Berlin-Brandenburg Intl Airport (Schönefeld). The staff expansion comes as the company looks to address a backlog for business aircraft operators, in addition to handling increased work due to its selection as a prime contractor for the German Special Air Mission Wing’s fleet of medium and long-range aircraft.

Maintenance Plan Unveiled For SPn

Grob Aerospace has introduced its maintenance cost assurance plan for the SPn business jet. The program gives operators an option to choose one of three levels of maintenance services — basic, advanced or premium — specifically tailored to individual needs. Scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, spare parts and technical publications are all included in the plan. The basic level covers airframe and avionics parts, shipping of those parts, and technical updates. In the advanced plan, labor costs for scheduled and unscheduled maintenance is covered, as well as component exchange and maintenance/spare parts for the interior. Under the premium program, operators are also included in the Williams Intl Total Assurance Program (TAP-Elite) for the FJ44.

In a related announcement, Grob has contracted with FedEx to ship spare parts in North America. Under the deal, SPn parts will initially be held at FedEx’s hub in Memphis, Tenn., instead of Grob’s North American office in Portsmouth, N.H. Eventually, plans call for parts to be stored at multiple FedEx bases in North America in order to speed up delivery to various customers.