A joint venture between Lufthansa Technik (75.1%) and Bulgaria Airways (24.9%), Lufthansa Technik Sofia has operated since 2008 specializing in narrowbodies. The five-bay facility, extended to eight bays in October 2017, covers base and line maintenance services for the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320, while the Embraer 190 is covered for line maintenance.
2-Doing Business In Bulgaria
Credit: Lufthansa Technik/Aviation Week
Factors including competitive labor costs, political stability and a geographical location between Europe and Asia all played a role in Lufthansa Technik's decision to set up in Bulgaria a decade ago, according to Daniel Hoffman, Lufthansa Technik Sofia's CEO.
3-A Mix Of In-House And Third-Party Work
Credit: Lufthansa Technik/Aviation Week
A large share of the 64,000m2 center's work is with its Lufthansa airline group company. However, since 2008, the Sofia operation has amassed more than 60 third-party carrier customers. These are a mix of European, Middle Eastern and Russian carriers, including Qatar Airways, easyJet and Bulgaria Air.
4-In-Flight Connectivity Installations
Credit: Lufthansa Technik/Aviation Week
As part of Lufthansa's FlyNet in-flight connectivity roll out across the airline and its subsidiaries, the Sofia operation is home to a purpose built structure aimed at accelerating the process of hardware installation. Lufthansa Technik Sofia CEO Daniel Hoffman says it has cut the process down from six days to a four-day turnaround time. The entire fleet is expected to be modified with the FlyNet solution by summer 2018.
5-Expansion Is On The Cards
Credit: Lufthansa Technik/Aviation Week
The Sofia operation will become the largest in Lufthansa Technik's base maintenance network following investment to the tune of €35 million ($41 million). The expansion includes three additional maintenance lines, offices and workshop areas, which Lufthansa Technik says will lead to more than one million man hours being generated.
Credit: James Pozzi/Aviation Week
The pandemic saw declines across the world for Lufthansa Technik, including in its core European market.
7-More Jobs On The Horizon
Credit: Lufthansa Technik/Aviation Week
The expanded site will also lead to an additional 300 employees in the coming years, in a mix of technical and administrative roles. Joining an existing workforce of around 1,100 staff, Lufthansa Technik said it is able to draw on Bulgaria's technical training schools to source technical talent.
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Credit: Lufthansa Technik/Aviation Week
While being able to accommodate eight narrowbody aircraft simultaneously for base maintenance, the hangars also have capacity for a single aircraft in a nose-in position to undergo additional services such as cabin modification work. Two of its eight hangars will also have full-paint capability.
As Aviation Week's MRO Editor EMEA, James Pozzi covers the latest industry news from the European region and beyond. He also writes in-depth features on the commercial aftermarket for Inside MRO.
