EBACE Show News - May 20, 2008 - (Page 60) EBACE 2008 Lufthansa Technik Comes to America With its workshops full to capacity, Lufthansa Technik plans to open its first completions center in the U.S. and set up VIP maintenance and refurbishment operations at Basel, Switzerland, just a stone’s throw away from its archrival, Jet Aviation. And after completing several Challenger 850s at its Hamburg center, Lufthansa Technik has decided to refocus its resources on larger aircraft, from BBJ and A318 size upwards. The strategic shifts stem from the need to expand operations in the dollar area, and to focus on expanding the company’s activities in its most profitable areas—VIP and VVIP completions. “Based on present capacity we would be sold out through 2012,” Walter Heerdt, Lufthansa Technik’s svp for marketing and sales, told Show News. “We will add an extra widebody line in 2010, but there are still more slot requests than slots,” he said. “We are already looking beyond 2012: we already have a commitment as far out as 2014/15 for a Boeing 787.” The U.S. completions center will be at Lufthansa Technik’s Bizjet International subsidiary at Tulsa, Oklahoma, which is currently performing its first large-jet refurbishment on a BBJ and recently signed up a second, for a foreign government. From next year Bizjet could become a second completions center for the A318 Elite program, which Lufthansa Technik has “industrialized” by outfitting it with standardized options. Whether Bizjet would make the interiors or import them from Germany is still being decided. “We have contracted to do 11 Elites so far, and we’re talking to Airbus about numbers 12 through 30,” said Heerdt. “It’s a very big success story and we’re exploring how to grow the pipeline.” Not much more can be done on the efficiency side: Lufthansa Technik has already reduced the time to complete an Lufthansa Technik is building a 10 million euro cabin innovation center in Hamburg. “Based on present capacity we would be sold out through 2012. We will add an extra widebody line in 2010, but there are still more slot requests than slots. We are already looking beyond 2012: we already have a commitment as far out as 2014/15 for a Boeing 787.” —Walter Heerdt, Lufthansa Technik’s svp for marketing and sales Lufthansa Technik’s Walter Heerdt. and support. Unlike many completion centers, the company offers life cycle support—and it needs facilities to carry out repairs, overhauls and refurbishments. The past year has seen eight aircraft subcontracted to Swiss Technik at Basel, the maintenance arm of Swiss airline, which is owned by Lufthansa. “So we are looking deeper into creating another Lufthansa Technik outlet there to bring in more VIP and refurbishment capability,” said Heerdt. The last thing Lufthansa Technik wants to do is to build facilities that will be left idle should the world’s economy turn down. It prefers to shorten completion times and better utilize existing facilities, said Lufthansa Technik has delivered three A318 Elites and is now working on two more. Heerdt, knowing that in A318 Elite from five months to four-and-a-half, with a goal of four months. As Lufthansa Technik completes and delivers VIP aircraft, so there is a greater need for maintenance May 20, 2008 www.aviationweek.com/shownews VIP Order Book that All But Runneth Over Lufthansa Technik’s VIP completions centers are fast filling up for the next several years. Its workbook includes: • Three BBJs; • Two A330s; • Three A319ACJs; • Two Boeing 747-8s; • Two A330s and two A340-300 jets for the German government; • The prospect of another 19 A318 Elites for a total of 30. • A Boeing 787 for 2014/15. tough times it can shift excess capacity into its commercial airline activities. —John Morris 60 http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews
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