BizJet begins A318 Elite completion, Lufthansa Technik Group
Release Date: 2009-05-11
BizJet International, Lufthansa Technik’s wholly owned US subsidiary, has received its first Airbus A318 Elite from Europe at Tulsa/Oklahoma in May. This signals the start for the planned gradual take-over of Elite completions from Lufthansa Technik’s completion site in Hamburg. The first aircraft is scheduled to be delivered back to Airbus in autumn with an FAA- and EASA-Supplemental Type Certificate.
BizJet invested about 3 million US dollars in expanding its infrastructure – upgrading its facilities and purchasing new machines, for example – and in retraining its employees. The company currently has definite orders for 6 A318 Elite aircraft.
“Involving BizJet, as an experienced and renowned provider of technical services for VIP and Executive aircraft in the USA, in our completion business enables us to cater more effectively for the individual needs of our customers from around the world, while maintaining our high quality standards and optimizing our cost structure.”, said Walter Heerdt, Senior Vice President Marketing and Sales of Lufthansa Technik AG.”Seeing the current development in the market, it was the right decision at the right time last year.”
“The arrival of the first A318 Elite at the Tulsa facility signals the start of a new chapter for our company and for Lufthansa Technik as well,” says Bernd Kowalewski, President and Chief Executive Officer at BizJet. “Next to Hamburg, we at BizJet will also be able to offer completion capacities and competence demanded by the market in the future. By participating in the successful Airbus Elite program, our facility will have a good basis for continued expansion of our VIP business over the next years.”
The demand for VIP and executive jets has increased so much in recent years that the Completion Center in Hamburg cannot handle all orders on its own. The need to expand production capacities in this area was due, in particular, to the market success of the Airbus A318 Elite program, in which Lufthansa Technik is Airbus' contracted completion partner.
Lufthansa Technik has completed and delivered seven A318 Elite aircraft at the Hamburg facility so far, and another aircraft is currently being processed. Two more Elites will be finished by mid of 2010, after which the project will be turned over completely to BizJet, where a second A318 Elite completion line will be opened in the same period. Lufthansa Technik will then concentrate its work at the Hamburg facility on individual wide- and narrow-body VIP and executive jet projects exclusively.
BizJet in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has been part of the Lufthansa Technik Group since 2000 and offers the complete spectrum of MRO services for VIP and business aircraft, plus comprehensive fixed base operator services. The company's portfolio has long included smaller business planes, like the Gulfstream and Falcon, plus narrow-bodies as well. It has a total of 32,000 square meters of hangar capacity and a variety of workshops for servicing and outfitting the aircraft.
| Type: | NORMAL |
| Company: | Lufthansa Technik Group |
| Country: | Germany |
| Url: | http://www.lufthansa-technik.com/applications/portal/lhtportal/lhtportal.portal?requestednode=395&_pageLabel=Template7_8&_nfpb=true&webcacheURL=TV_I/Media-Relations/Group-News/Ebace_Bizjet_A318_Elite_ |