Falcon Aviation Services broke ground today on the Middle East’s first VIP aircraft completion centre, which it expects to be open for business in 2016.
The Abu Dhabi-based business aviation services provider hopes to capitalise on the region’s position as the biggest market for VIP widebody and narrowbody airliners.
The Middle East “is home to a large and expanding population of business aircraft,” says Capt Mahmoud Ismael, chief operating officer of Al Bateen Executive airport-headquartered FAS – which has a growing fleet of 30 fixed- and rotary-wing types.
“Over the next few years there will be a number of [green] aircraft coming on the market while others will be coming up for refurbishment,” says Ismael.
FAS’ first completions project is expected to be a company-owned VIP-configured Bombardier CSeries. It became the first UAE-based customer for the in-development regional airliner earlier this year, after placing an order for two of the twinjets.
Ismael says the completions facility is a “natural extension” of its thriving MRO business. The eight-year-old company supports a number of aircraft, including types from the Embraer and Airbus Helicopters stables.
The Dubai World Central-based completion centre is also a major coup for the Middle East. Until now, the industry has been dominated by a handful of companies in Europe and the USA, notably Jet Aviation, Lufthansa Technik, GDC Technics and Greenpoint Technologies.
Despite the size of region’s VIP airliner fleet and its continued appetite for high-end jets, the Middle East has been dismissed by industry specialists as poorly suited for a viable completion centre due to its relatively unskilled workforce.
Ismael plans to silence the sceptics by importing specialised workers and partnering with technical experts to help achieve its goal of becoming a leading international MRO provider.
Source: Flight Daily News
