Lufthansa Technik (LHT) is keeping its Hamburg hangars well-stocked with widebody work as a procession of VVIP completions rolls through the facility.
A pair of Boeing 747-8Is are already undergoing fit-out and will be redelivered to their owners next year. These look set to be replaced by another pair of the iconic Boeing bizliners, says Wieland Timm, director of sales VIP and special mission aircraft at LHT.
In all, LHT has completed 19 747s over the years, says Timm. “No-one has done more.”
Its presence at MEBA is crucial, given that the region represents 70% of its annual work in the VIP segment.
That is explained by two simple facts, he says: “The Middle East is a high-end market and we are number one in widebody completions.”
The two -8I’s currently at Hamburg feature a whole host of technical advances, particularly in the use of materials such as glass and stone in the cabins.
“It is the most exciting and high-end cabin ever made in the world,” says Timm. “We are doing things that have never been done before.”
And its ability to bring these materials into the aerospace industry can be explained in two words, he says: “German technology”.
Meanwhile, LHT still hopes to soon be able to sign its first completion contract covering a Boeing 787. Timm believes its extensive investment in composite maintenance know-how will stand it in good stead to outfit the carbonfibre Dreamliner.
Source: Flight Daily News
