Elite VIP completions and maintenance specialist AMAC Aerospace continues to win new business as it expands its facilities

The first six months of 2015 have been very busy for AMAC Aerospace with the Switzerland-headquartered VIP completions and maintenance specialist winning new business, achieving key certifications and approvals while continuing to upgrade its facilities.

In June, AMAC Aerospace’s facility in EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse was successfully awarded the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Agency Certificate, empowering it to operate an FAA-aproved repair station.

“The long-anticipated arrival came after several years of ongoing dialogue with our esteemed industry peers,” comments Executive Chairman and Group CEO Kadri Muhiddin. “AMAC Aerospace is now authorised to undertake repair station work on airframes, accessories, power plants, landing gears and non-destructive inspections, testing and processing on N-registered aircraft.”

With the expansion of its Basel facility – AMAC’s fourth hangar sees operational duties from Q4 2015 – the company will be geared up to accept and support the expected additional maintenance work on ‘N’-registered aircraft.

“This has been a long wait, we are all happy to be fully accredited by the FAA to carry out maintenance work and to measure up to our new and existing clients’ expectations who were eagerly waiting for our approval to receive AMAC’s renowned high quality standards for maintenance work on their N-registered aircraft,” adds Group Chief Operating Officer Bernd Schramm.

AMAC Aerospace, which specialises in narrow and widebody VIP completion and maintenance for the corporate and private aviation market, has its headquarters in Basel and a charter office in Zurich. Overseas offices include AMAC Aerospace Turkey, which is located at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul and a regional sales office in Beirut, Lebanon.

Founded in 2007, AMAC Aerospace today is the largest privately owned facility in the world and led by Muhiddin, Schramm and Group Chief Financial Officer Mauro Grossi. 

AMAC’s order book currently stands at $1 billion and its successful progress attests to the commitment to excellence. With long-term industry engagement, deep industry roots, extensive experience and strong international network, the AMAC team collaborates to exceed the expectations of clients, airworthiness authorities and original equipment manufacturers, says Muhiddin.


BASEL MILESTONES

Earlier this year, AMAC achieved another milestone in its co-operation with giant Boeing, when a Boeing Business Jet BBJ3 arrived in Basel in April to undergo a partial cabin reconfiguration. The contract, which was signed with a Middle East customer, included a STC (Supplemental Type Certificate) level modification and new seating arrangements.

AMAC is undertaking this in conjunction with a scheduled C-check maintenance during a reduced ground time in order to meet the customer’s operational requirement.

The Basel facility also notched up another success winning a contract with a Far East customer to perform a new completion and a system upgrade of an A319.

The refurbishment consists of producing a new cabin interior appearance by replacing carpets and soft materials. Additionally, the aircraft entertainment system will be upgraded with the latest generation high-definition (HD) entertainment system. The aircraft satcom system will also be upgraded to Swift Broadband (SBB) functionality and a new wireless LAN (local area network) network will be installed and certified under a European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) STC.

AMAC is also strengthening its expertise in the completion and refurbishment of Boeing 777 VIP aircraft with another 777-200 currently undergoing a completion and systems upgrade. This is the third B777 AMAC will be completing, which means they are industry leaders in B777 outfitting.

The project, for a Middle East customer, includes the installation of new soft materials. All VIP seats will be reupholstered to a new design produced by AMAC’s in-house design department. The project further includes the installation a Ku-Band Satcom system offering broadband internet connectivity and upgrade of the existing aircraft cabin management and entertainment systems, enabling the use of personal electronic devices such as iPads.

In another key order, the Basel facility successfully completed the installation of a standalone Satcom system with wireless LAN on an Airbus A318 VIP aircraft.

The aircraft, already equipped with a primary Satcom, was fitted with a second standalone Satcom system, which will be exclusively used for cabin internet service, allowing the passengers to have Swift Broadband (SBB) high-speed internet service distributed over a wireless LAN router all through the cabin.

Meanwhile, work on the fourth hangar, which will cover an area of 7,280 sq m, is due for completion before the end of the year. 

The construction includes the expansion of the apron, which provides a secure fenced tarmac for parked aircraft. It will give AMAC the opportunity to build new offices, workshops, store areas and archiving areas. Hangar Four will complement the demand for widebody aircraft maintenance although depending on demand, it can also cater for other aircraft activities.

The positions of aircraft within the new hangar will allow AMAC Aerospace to position one widebody aircraft with two narrowbody jets behind. With a total workable area of more than 28,000 sq m of hangar floor space, AMAC Aerospace is “ready to meet the demand and welcome esteemed clientele who wish to enjoy Swiss excellence in business aviation”.

“The expansion of our Basel facility fits into our business model, which is an enlargement of 17 per cent of our secure tarmac area and nearly 35 per cent of our total hangar space, with Hangar Four giving us more than 85,000 sq m in total. Everyone at AMAC Aerospace is proud to see the facility grow proportionally to the workload we have,” says Grossi.


ISTANBUL SUCCESSES

AMAC’s Turkish operation has also boosted its prowess this year on the back of winning new approvals and dealerships while achieving new milestones.

The sales and service centre in Istanbul features 1,500 sq m of hangar space, 1,200 sq m of shop floor space and 300 sq m of office space. Its core aviation services include line and base maintenance; defect rectification and AOG (aircraft on ground) support; accomplishment of airworthiness reviews and certificates;  Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) assessment; development of maintenance and reliability programmes; planning of scheduled maintenance activities; management of modification and repairs; outsourced engineering tasks and services and pre-buy inspections.

AMAC Aerospace Turkey kicked off the New Year by successfully renewing its EASA Part-145 approval which was extended to further include base rating(s) up to C Check for F900 EX EASy and F2000/F2000 EX EASy series. 

Also in January, it opened a line station at Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport, following approval from the Turkey’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). With this approval, the facility will be able to carry out scheduled checks up to A check and defect rectifications on Falcon 900, Falcon 900EX EASy, Falcon 2000 Falcon 2000EX EASy and Falcon 7X aircraft.

Meanwhile, in March, the DGCA awarded it with Falcon 7X approval for line maintenance up to A check, marking another milestone in maintenance support for Falcon 7X customers. The Turkish operation is now aiming to get EASA Part-145 and FAA FAR-145 approval for the 7X before the end of the year, says Muhiddin.

Along with this, a new C5 component capability approval was issued by the Turkish authorities, allowing it to open a new battery shop at its hangar at Istanbul Atatürk Airport.

Also in March, Honeywell authorised AMAC Aerospace Turkey as a Honeywell BGA Avionics dealer, enabling it to perform sales, installation and Level One services including modifications and warranty repairs on Avionics products used on Dassault Falcon 2000/2000EX EASy, 900/900EX EASy, F7X and Pilatus PC-12 series airplanes.

In April, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of the Cayman Islands granted AMAC Aerospace OTAR-145 maintenance approval, enabling the Istanbul operation to perform maintenance on Cayman Islands-registered Dassault Falcon 900/900EX EASy and 2000/2000EX EASy, and Pilatus PC-12 airplanes flying to or from Turkey and neighbouring countries.

And most recently in May, AMAC Aerospace Turkey was named a Rockwell Collins dealer enabling it to perform sales, flight line maintenance, warranty repairs and modifications on Rockwell Collins products.

AMAC Aerospace is also upbeat about the new Pilatus PC 24 business jet, which is due to enter service in 2017. As the exclusive distributor for the jet in the Middle East, AMAC is marketing it across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Yemen, Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain, Qatar, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey, while all maintenance services for the PC-24 will be co-ordinated through the Istanbul facility. 

“Everyone working on the PC-24 should be proud to see the entry of this aircraft from 2017 and we at AMAC are excited to promote it to the Middle East,” Muhiddin concludes.