MROs and Completion Centers

Executive jets parked for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

More Gulfstream customer support has been added in France and China. This is seen in the added support at the Paris LeBourget with additional maintenance hangar space as well as more inspection capabilities in Beijing at its factory-owned Service Center there. "Our ability to work in a hangar at Le Bourget will protect a customer’s aircraft from the elements and create an efficient working environment with room for tooling and equipment," said Gulfstream Customer Support President Derek Zimmerman.

It appears that Gulfstream is closing its service center in Brazil. The service center located at the Bertram Luiz Leupolz Airport in Sorocaba was a major facility. With over 200 Gulfstream jets flying around in Latin America it is important to have a service center in Brazil but with this planned closing of the Sorocaba facility Gulfstream plans to expand its FAST (Field and Airborne Support Teams) offerings and joining them with a yet-to-be-named authorized service provider in Brazil. For now, the Sorocaba facility will remain open with limited staffing to take some appointments.

Dassault Aviation and TAG Aviation announced the acquisition of the European maintenance activities of TAG Aviation Group by Dassault. The integration of those activities will take place over the next few months, once all necessary authorizations have been received.

“The acquisition of the maintenance activities of TAG AVIATION, a major MRO provider, will allow Dassault Aviation to reinforce its European service center network. With TAG Maintenance Services, we intend to develop further a network of excellence and to support TAG different aircraft clients with the same commitment to service quality, while expanding the share of Falcon maintenance activities controlled by the Dassault Group”, declared Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation.“We have been working hard over the past twenty years to build up a high quality maintenance organization, specializing in the Dassault and Bombardier product lines”, remarked Mr. Mansour Ojjeh, President of TAG Group, the majority shareholder of TAG Aviation. “During that time we have built a strong relationship with Dassault Aviation, based upon mutual trust and respect. Given the many challenges faced by independent MROs in the current industry environment, we are pleased to sell this segment of TAG Aviation to a respected OEM who values it’s employees and shares TAG’s high business standards”.

Jet Aviation announces it has completed the rebranding of its six Hawker Pacific FBOs in Australia. The Australian FBO facilities are located in Brisbane (2), Cairns, Darwin, Perth and Sydney. Effective February 1, 2019, all six FBOs in Australia operate under the Jet Aviation logo.

Jet Aviation expanded its customer offerings in the Asia-Pacific region with the acquisition of Hawker Pacific in May 2018. As part of its ongoing Hawker Pacific integration journey, the company recently completed the rebranding of its six new FBOs (Sydney, Brisbane (2), Cairns, Darwin and Perth) based in Australia. Together with these six locations, Jet Aviation operates 34 FBOs across America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The rebranding is expected to strengthen the company’s position as a leading global business aviation service provider.

To ensure optimum service levels for its rapidly modernizing fleet, Dassault has long placed a top priority on reinforcing Falcon aftermarket support in the Asia-Pacific region. Last month, the company agreed to acquire the maintenance, repair and overhaul operations of the ExecuJet Group, which offers product support at several locations in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and Europe, including four in Australia and New Zealand.

"ExecuJet has earned a solid reputation over three decades for providing state-of-the-art maintenance services to operators throughout Australia and the broader Asia-Pacific region– services that are accessible to business jet owners of all types," said Trappier. "By retaining the team's separate identity and leadership, and adding invaluable synergies from the Dassault Group, we intend to make significantly enhanced service capabilities available to business jet operators here and around the world."

Nomad Technics finishes inspection work on pair of Embraer jets and a Bombardier Global 6000.

The first 6 and 12 month inspection on two Embraer Legacy jets at its Basel, Switzerland, facility. Maintenance tasks on the 600 and 650 series Legacy also included routine inspections and defect rectifications. The company also carried out a 750 hours inspection and aircraft weighing on a Bombardier Global 6000 on time.

Bombardier is looking to ramp up European maintenance support for its new Global 7500. Lufthansa Bombardier Aviation Services (LBAS) is the option for working on the type in Berlin Schoenefeld facility as it recently received EASA Part 145 approval. Bombardier’s certified stations are in Paris, Nice, and Cannes, France; Luton, UK; Linz, Austria; and Olbia and Linate, Italy. They are now qualified to perform standard scheduled line maintenance, and unscheduled and AOG maintenance support on the 7500, Bombardier said.

Metrojet has officially broken ground on its new MRO facility in the Philippines. Hong Kong-based Metrojet Limited; a business aviation service provider with presence throughout Asia Pacific, recently commenced the building of its regional expansion project – a state-of-the-art business aviation parking and maintenance facility in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines – planned to be operational in Q2 2020.

Dassault Aviation’s company-owned service center in São Paulo, Brazil – Dassault Aircraft Services (DAS) – Sorocaba -- recently celebrated its ten year anniversary. Located at the Sorocaba Airport (SOD), the 23,000 square foot service center has grown significantly in manpower, capabilities and spare parts inventory since its opening.

"Brazil has always been a very strong market for Dassault so expanding our service here was a natural extension of our ‘whatever it takes’ philosophy for our customers who are based in Brazil or travel there often," said Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation. "We continue to invest in our company-owned service center here to provide the industry-leading support our operators deserve and expect." Dassault expects to add additional technicians in 2019. Investments over the last year include adding tooling to perform ‘B’ level checks for Brazilian registered Falcons in the Falcon 7X and Falcon 2000 family, and the addition of a Pre-Purchase Evaluation (PPE) program for those considering a pre-owned Falcon. The program includes a thorough physical evaluation of the aircraft, systems operational checks and a detailed record research.

Bombardier is pleased to announce that its service center at London Biggin Hill Airport is adding enhanced interior repair and refurbishment activities to the facility, providing customers in the region with extended maintenance and support capabilities. Austrian-based F/LIST, one of the most respected global manufacturers of high-end interiors for business aircraft, will partner with Bombardier on the development of the enhanced interior shop, which will significantly enhance support and service operations for customers in the region.

With targeted operational readiness in the coming months, the enhanced interior shop will feature a full spectrum of in-cabin repairs available via the F/LIST worldwide Mobile Repair Team while adding up to 20 new local jobs over the next several years. The development of the enhanced interior shop at the Biggin Hill Service Center builds on the existing long-standing relationship between F/LIST and Bombardier. The Austrian-based firm is well-versed with Bombardier’s business aircraft programs, having installed significant components such as flooring, veneers, cabinetry and showers on various aircraft platforms for more than a decade.

"We are very pleased to be working with F/LIST to provide enhanced interior repair and refurbishment capabilities at the Biggin Hill Service Center, offering even more service and support options for our European-based customers," said Jean-Christophe Gallagher, Vice President and General Manager, Customer Experience, Bombardier Business Aircraft. "Customer satisfaction is always a top priority at Bombardier and the new interior shop will enhance reliability and expectations, further strengthening our support to our customers."

Gulfstream is expanding its footprint in Europe literally with the construction of the company’s new 220,060-square-foot/20,444-square-meter maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility at business aviation-dedicated TAG Farnborough Airport began earlier this month. Announced in May 2018, the MRO is scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2020 and will serve as Gulfstream’s main resource for customers in the London area, Europe’s busiest business aviation hub."We are excited about what this new era for Gulfstream in Europe will mean for customers," said Derek Zimmerman, president, Gulfstream Customer Support. "Our new, modern, purpose-built Farnborough service center will be our biggest international facility and will both enhance the customer experience and support our growing fleet".

Gamma Aviation is looking to expand its footprint in the UK specifically at its Bournemouth facility. Last year the company started MRO work on a Challenger 604 encompassing a 96 month inspection. The full scope of works for the aircraft will include: a 96 month check, full interior refurbishment, full exterior paint as well as compliance with ADS-B Out, CPDLC and Fans 1/A. The work, previously undertaken at Gama Aviation’s Oxford facility, is taking place at its new 135,000 sq ft facility at Bournemouth International Airport that was opened last year September.

Textron Aviation announced a new Aircraft Maintenance Data Hub for owners and operators of Beechcraft, Cessna and Hawker aircraft at last week’s European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition. The new data hub will be available in summer 2019 and will offer a more comprehensive record of all aircraft maintenance performed on Textron Aviation products by working with multiple industry tracking system providers. "It’s important to our customers that they have a clear understanding and record of work done on their aircraft," said Kriya Shortt, Textron Aviation senior vice president, Global Customer Support. "This new data hub will offer customers more choices in their tracking system and a comprehensive picture of maintenance records across all their Textron Aviation products."

Jet Aviation strengthens industry footprint globally

The recent groundbreaking at Jet Aviation’s FBO in West Palm Beach, Florida, for new hangar and office space is just the latest step in the company’s efforts to expand and improve its global FBO network, now at 35 locations. The company is investing heavily to ensure its facilities are designed and equipped to meet all the business-aviation needs of its global customer base.

Jet Aviation’s FBO business in EMEA and APAC saw significant growth in 2018. First the company acquired the Hawker Pacific chain of FBOs throughout Australia and Asia in May. Then in September it established ground-handling services at Prince Abdul Mohsin Bin Abdulaziz Regional Airport in Yanbu, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, followed by the acquisition of the KLM Jet Center businesses in Amsterdam and Rotterdam in October.

This year, Jet Aviation continues to expand its locations and services. The company plans to provide FBO services from a newly refurbished 600 square-meter state-of-the art, double-story facility at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport (KKIA) by the end of 2019, its 40th Anniversary year in Saudi Arabia. In the U.S. and Caribbean, construction or renovation is under way – or soon will be – at seven of Jet Aviation’s 12 regional locations. This includes its newest in Scottsdale, Arizona, where Jet Aviation recently announced it has acquired a stake in the Scottsdale Jet Center. It also includes the entirely new FBO and hangar complex nearing completion at Van Nuys, California and hangar expansions in Teterboro, New Jersey, San Juan, Puerto Rico and West Palm Beach, Florida. Finally, significant renovations will soon be underway at the FBOs in Teterboro, New Jersey and Dallas, Texas and a storm-damaged hangar will be replaced in Houston, Texas. Below is a rendering of the Van Nuys plant.

"The acquisition of the business aviation activities of RUAG is part of our strategy to develop a worldwide MRO network of excellence and will allow Dassault Aviation to reinforce its footprint in Switzerland. RUAG has been a long-time partner of Dassault Aviation as an authorized Falcon service center. This acquisition will consolidate our network in Geneva and Lugano. Both Geneva and Lugano FBO activities will complement the full range of services offered by Dassault Aviation in Switzerland", declared Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation.

Dassault Falcon suggests that they lead the industry in product support.

Dassault Aviation recently took the top position in two of the business aviation industry’s leading gauges of customer satisfaction, the Aviation International News (AIN) and Pro Pilot product support surveys. The top ranking, after several straight second and third place finishes, follows a multi-year effort to establish a level of customer service second to none in the business jet sector. Dassault was voted #1 overall in the AIN survey and led the field in Parts Availability, Parts Cost, AOG Response, and Overall Aircraft Reliability. In the ProPilot survey, Dassault took the #1 spot overall, as well as placing first in Spares Availability and Service Satisfaction.

"These survey results attest to the many different steps we have taken in recent years to improve our global service center network, spare parts availability, AOG support and training services. It’s also a direct result of the unwavering commitment to excellence by our employees,” said Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation. “However we realize that retaining industry leadership in product support is a continuous effort and we will do our utmost to maintain and elevate the standard of customer service we have achieved."

Embraer is set to build 30 million dollars in facilities at the São José dos Campos suburb of Eugênio de Melo. Remember the Boeing/Embraer deal? This is all in preparation for the finalization of that. Deciding what facilities Boeing Brazil will use is not the easiest thing to figure out. The new expansion is expected to increase the capacity from around 1,500 employees to more than 4,000 when completed. The physical size of the facilities will also grow from754,000 sq ft to 1.2 million sq ft.

Some news from Greenpoint Technologies. VIP business jet completions company Greenpoint Technologies has now shifted over to its corporate headquarters. They are now located in Parklands North Creek, Bothell, Washington at a spanking new 36,000-sq-ft facility. The facility incorporates Greenpoint Technologies design, engineering, program management, operations, certification, and sales departments.

A look at Blackhawk's STC program for the King Air 350 with the XP67A PT6s and five-bladed props.