Carrier draws on 737 overhaul skills for corporate version of Boeing twinjet
Malaysia Airlines' (MAS) engineering division has expanded into corporate aircraft, offering overhauls and retrofits for the Boeing Business Jet (BBJ).
Last month, MAS completed work on its first corporate aircraft – a BBJ operated by Las Vegas-based Vision Air. MAS Engineering says it overhauled the aircraft and refurbished the interior and has begun marketing similar services to BBJ operators worldwide.
The maintenance shop says it can also do VIP cabin retrofits, but plans to focus on the overhaul market because corporate aircraft retrofit specialists lack the capability to do heavy maintenance checks with the quick turnarounds operators require. MAS can overhaul a BBJ in three months, using the capability developed for its own fleet of 39 Boeing 737-400s.
MAS does not plan to offer services for smaller business jets, because doing so would not fit into its current business. However, it believes the world's BBJ fleet, which now consists of more than 80 aircraft, will be requiring overhauls over the next few years, and operators will be interested in reducing maintenance costs by sending their aircraft to Malaysia.
Vision Air is considering acquiring two additional used BBJs that may also be refurbished and overhauled in Malaysia. MAS is in talks with other operators, mainly in Europe and North America, because only a few BBJs fly in Asia.
BRENDAN SOBIE/SINGAPORE
Source: Flight International
