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1. Prepping For P2F Conversions
Company: Ascent Aviation Services
Product: Ascent Aviation Services offers a variety of MRO services—including aircraft storage, reclamation, painting, modifications and interiors work—for narrowbody, widebody and regional aircraft. The company says it is one of the only MRO providers in the U.S. capable of performing heavy checks on Boeing 747s. Its facilities are located in Marana and Tucson, Arizona. Earlier this year, Ascent broke ground on two new widebody hangars in Marana, where it will perform passenger-to-freighter conversions on Boeing 777s for Israel Aerospace Industries.
marketplace.aviationweek.com/company/ascent-aviation-services
2. Widebody Growth
Company: Aspire MRO
Product: Launched in 2022, Aspire MRO performs widebody heavy maintenance and passenger-to-freighter conversions from its facilities in Fort Worth, Texas. The company plans to run five lines of Boeing 777 freighter conversions in the next 3-5 years, and it is eyeing growth in its heavy maintenance offerings. Earlier this year, Aspire partnered with Launch Technical Workforce Solutions to pursue a variety of workforce recruitment and labor management strategies that will help it meet the staff growth it needs by 2026.
marketplace.aviationweek.com/company/aspire-mro
3. Expanding Expertise
Company: Fokker Services Group
Product: Fokker Services Group offers a variety of airframe services such as base maintenance, modifications, painting, and aircraft storage and dismantling from its facilities in the Netherlands and Singapore. Its Netherlands facilities serve a variety of Airbus, ATR, Boeing, Fokker and Gulfstream aircraft platforms. In Singapore, Fokker Services Asia specializes in ATR aircraft and signed a memorandum of understanding in February to become an authorized service center for first-generation Embraer E-Jets. Last year, the company inaugurated a new widebody hangar at Woensdrecht Airport in the Netherlands for airframe MRO, completion and conversion services.
marketplace.aviationweek.com/company/fokker-services-group
4. Industry Partnerships
Company: GMR Aero Technic
Product: Based in Hyderabad, India, GMR Aero Technic is an independent airframe MRO provider offering services such as heavy maintenance, aircraft recovery and painting. In January, the company signed an agreement with Spirit AeroSystems to establish an aircraft nacelle component repair service at its Hyderabad facility and a separate agreement with Lufthansa Technik to deploy its Cyclean engine wash system at airports across India. GMR Aero Technic is working with Boeing on 737 freighter conversions and with Airbus on its recently launched technician training venture, GMR School of Aviation.
marketplace.aviationweek.com/company/gmr-aero-technic
5. Accumulating New Deals
Company: Joramco
Product: Joramco is an independent MRO provider based in Amman, Jordan which offers airframe maintenance services for a variety of Airbus, Boeing and Embraer aircraft. This year, Joramco inked deals with carriers such as Ryanair and LATAM Airlines to perform heavy maintenance at its Amman base. Last year, the company signed a score of maintenance agreements with companies such as Emirates, Gulf Air, Philippine Airlines and Spirit AeroSystems. It is also setting up a Boeing Converted Freighter Line in Amman. Joramco is building a new widebody hangar at Queen Alia International Airport to support its growing work, which it expects to start operating from by the fourth quarter of this year.
marketplace.aviationweek.com/company/joramco
6. Boosting Base Maintenance
Company: Lufthansa Technik
Product: German MRO giant Lufthansa Technik offers a wide variety of airframe maintenance services for Airbus and Boeing aircraft, as well as an assortment of regional and business jet platforms. It has more than 40 base maintenance lines at eight global facilities. Subsidiary Lufthansa Technik Malta added Boeing 787 base maintenance services to its portfolio last year and completed its first C check on the aircraft type in April for LOT Polish Airlines. The company recently signed deals with Eurowings and Frontier Airlines for Airbus A320 base maintenance services. Lufthansa Technik also recently equipped Swiss International Air Lines’ entire Boeing 777-300ER fleet with its AeroSHARK surface film to reduce drag during flight.
marketplace.aviationweek.com/company/lufthansa-technik-ag
7. MRO Milestones
Company: MRO Japan
Product: Established in 2015, MRO Japan is an independent maintenance provider located at Okinawa Naha Airport. In addition to holding approvals from aviation regulators in Japan and Singapore, MRO Japan obtained Part 145 approval from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in 2022. It welcomed its first international line maintenance customer, Taiwan’s Starlux Airlines, soon after, and last year it performed its first heavy maintenance services for a foreign aircraft under EASA certification. In April, MRO Japan signed a memorandum of understanding with Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH to perform passenger-to-freighter conversions on Airbus A320/A321 family aircraft.
marketplace.aviationweek.com/company/mro-japan
8. Middle East Expansion
Company: Vallair
Product: In addition to its cargo conversion, trading, leasing and component operations, Vallair offers a wide variety of airframe MRO services from its facilities In Chateauroux and Montpellier, France. Its Chateauroux facility provides a full scope of heavy maintenance services for narrowbodies and widebodies, while its Montpellier facility focuses on services such as major repairs, modifications, painting and cabin refurbishment. Vallair is working to expand its global footprint to Saudi Arabia, where it is currently exploring potential locations. The company expects to first establish a training school there, which it hopes to begin operating by late 2024. Vallair invested in MRO training school Aircraft Academy in 2022, which it has been leveraging to recruit and train workforce in France.
