B/CA Show News - NBAA 2007 Day 1 - (Page 80) COMPLETIONS N BA A 2007 Widebody Completion? Get in Line “The market has exploded in the last year or so,” completions of two green BBJs late last year, emsays Jeff Bosque, president of Associated Air Cen- barked on its first ACJ job last month, and is proter, who’s booking ACJ and BBJ business for 2009 moting capabilities for larger jets by both manufacturers. and even 2010. “Strong demand for the ACJ family means there “All the shops are at maximum overdrive,” says Ken McAlpin, director of VIP and head of state is a shortage of cabin outfitting capacity in the marcompletions with a special programs unit of L-3 ket,” says Airbus A320 vp Alain Flourens. Airbus Communications. “The phone is ringing con- sold 17 corporate jets worth $1.1 billion—14 ACJs and three A340s—through May 2007, compared stantly. Relatively simple things are hard to get.” “The completion industry is dealing with un- with 20 in the whole of 2006. Airbus’ answer is to precedented backlogs and lack of capable resources,” says Christine Hadley of Seattle’s Greenpoint. Her firm is focusing on Boeing 787 Dreamliner designs. “Not much more work can be handled between 2009 and 2013,” remarks Walter Heerdt, svp sales and marketing at Lufthansa Technik, “and I see more than 15 widebodies being ordered for delivery in that time frame.” Heerdt says he questions whether new players can gain the engineering expertise to deal with wide- BMW Designworks suggests this loft-style bedroom suite. bodies in such a short time; and he cautions that while Lufthansa Technik can increase its capacity, it will not do so to meet an absolute peak in demand only to see that demand drop. Driving Heerdt’s concerns are the rumored three customers for VVIP A380s, as well as Boeing’s orders for four 747-8s and six 787s for head of state and executive use. In addition, several orders are believed to be imminent for VVIP A330s and A340s. “A total of seven 787 VIP jets have been ordered directly from Boeing,” the airframer Boeing is promoting a library concept by Teague. said in publicizing the sale of a $153 million 787 establish a completions center of its own, reto Hong Kong developer Joseph Lau in May. grouping EADS Sogerma employees and cabin“We certainly would not mind talking to him,” outfitting facilities in Toulouse. Capacity is three ACJs per year. McAlpin says. Other Airbus-sanctioned completion centers inJet Aviation Basel said last month that it signed a letter of intent with a confidential client from the clude AAC, Gore, Jet Aviation of Basel, Switzerland, echnik of Hamburg, Germany. Gulf region for the VIP completions of a 787-9. and Lufthansa T Expanding capacity is not simple. It means inThe green aircraft will take 15 to 18 months to furnish following delivery to the Basel facility in 2011. vestment in large hangars that could quickly be“People are looking to buy slots and flip them,” come vast empty spaces if the market should turn down. L-3 is considering building a medium-size says AAC’s Bosque. San Antonio’s Gore Design Completions began hangar for aircraft like the military’s P-3 Orion and 80 C-130 Hercules turboprops, freeing up the space they’re in now for widebody work. L-3 could in this way handle as many as seven 747s at once. Expanding decisively is Midcoast Aviation, now a unit of Jet Aviation. Midcoast has broken ground on a 145,000-square-foot hangar at the company’s St. Louis Downtown facility, a project that will increase Midcoast’s total hangar space at CPS to 650,000 square feet. Midcoast expects to add 200 new employees there. The firm handles larger business jets such as Bombardier Challenger 850s. Airbus is careful to note that the EADS Sogerma employees in Toulouse have experience with ACJ completions, taking pains to list such specific customers as Aero Services Executive, National Air Services, the Venezuelan government and “undisclosed clients in the Middle East—as well as some VIP widebodies.” That’s because the completions business is strapped for personnel, a big factor contributing to the big body bottleneck. “We believe we will have plenty of hangar space,” McAlpin says. “The real problem is getting the skilled, experienced people that you need.” “There’s a shortage of engineers out there,” agrees AAC’s Bosque, naming mechanical design, systems design, avionicselectronics, stress engineers, and weight and balance specialists. “All of these disciplines are in high demand right now,” he says. It’s not an easy problem to solve overnight. “You’re looking at craftsmen and certifications that have taken years to develop,” Bosque says. Also making managers nervous is the supply chain. Some 20 to 30 vendors supply 70-80% of total needs, Bosque says, naming parts such as seats, tables, bulkheads and headliners. Who are the vendors? “It’s a guarded secret,” Bosque replies, and close relationships are protected. “We’re concerned about whether the vendor markets can support things,” says McAlpin, who cites continued on page 82 September 25, 2007 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews
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