Sharper support for British helicopters

Eastern/Western Europe's MRO market gains fluctuate by region

The restructuring of the Brazilian subsidiary of TAP Maintenance & Engineering (TAP M&E) is reaching its final stage, with the company now focused on improving processes and methods, says TAP M&E’s Deputy Vice President of Operations Brazil, Nelson Vaz. IT, logistics, HR, sales and operations all are on a solid footing and “we are confident that in the short-term TAP M&E Brazil will be a profitable business,” he says. TAP bought the former Varig maintenance and repair provider in 2005 and the company has reported heavy losses since then.

Chris Doan, who was quoted in the Sept. 25 article “Eastern Europe To Drive Much Of Region’s MRO Growth,” is President and CEO of TeamSAI.

MTU Maintenance and Sumitomo Corp. have created two joint ventures to lease commercial aircraft engines. The first is MTU Maintenance Lease Services, of which MTU owns 80%; it will provide short- to medium-term engine leases for the independent maintenance provider's customers. The second, Sumisho Aero Engine Lease, of which Sumitomo owns 90% and MTU Aero Engines 10%, will focus on long-term engine leases that are not necessarily associated with MRO contracts with MTU.

CSA Czech Airlines Technics is looking to add ATR and Embraer to its landing gear capabilities in order to improve utilization of its facilities at Prague Airport while keeping investment low. The MRO currently is certified to maintain Boeing 737 Classic and NG landing gear.

The MRO subsidiary of Egyptair Holding is seeking to double revenue from third-party customers to 50% of total sales, and has won two contracts to help achieve that goal. From Oct. 1, Egyptair Maintenance & Overhaul will perform the line maintenance for Qatar Airways’ 28 weekly flights at Cairo International Airport, taking over from Lufthansa Technik. And starting Nov. 1, it will take care of line maintenance for the twice-daily flights of Gulf Air at the same airport.

If an airline orders more than 100 new aircraft, then two months later says that 95% of its annual maintenance and engineering contracted work is up for re-tender by 2017, the industry should take note. While EasyJet did exactly this in July and September, the news does not signal a seismic shift in its operations. Rather, the carrier is continuing to do what it does well—run a lean, low-cost operation. EasyJet considered proposals from Airbus, Boeing and Bombardier over a 20-month period, but Airbus’s final price seemed to clinch the deal.