India's first aircraft maintenance facility gets nod

General aviation maintenance provider Air Works today announced that it has received approval from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)to set up its first Commercial Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) operations in Hosur, near Bangalore.


Airworks, which has got the approval for airframe maintenance for the seventy seater ATR 72 aircraft hopes to get approvals for aircraft like Boeing 737s and Airbus 320s in future.

Airworks will perform services such as line and base maintenance, aircraft painting, structural repairs, cabin upgrades, and avionic upgrades. Air Works will also be offering component repairs and spare parts sourcing.

The Indian aviation industry currently has a total fleet of 80 operational ATRs
Last year, the company equity of investment of 33 % each from US based equity firm GTI Group LLC and Indian infrastructure major Punj Lloyd.

"We think this is a good time for setting up an MRO. A large part of maintenance work is outsourced by airline companies. Getting it done in India would mean cost benefits of 40% as compared to getting it done in the US and Europe and around 20% in compared to the Gulf and Southeast Asia," said Frederick Groth, CEO of Air Works.

The Hosur MRO currently has one hangar capable of housing two ATR 72 Size aircraft or one narrow body aircraft. The Hosur airport has a newly extended 7000 ft X 150 ft runway, capable of accepting all commercial aircraft types.

The company will start operations with one existing hangar and will soon build two more hangars to be ready by no later than year end 2009. Going forward, Air Works plans to invest up to $40 mn for setting up the additional hangars, the paint operation, and future engine / component MRO activities.

The company has already announced a joint venture with UK based Air Livery Plc, to set up a aircraft painting centre by the end of 2009.

Air Works’ General Aviation MRO is already the largest in India with over 60% market share. Air Works currently does DGCA approved maintenance on over 75 aircraft including Gulfstream, Bombardier, Dassault, Hawker, Cessna, Beech and others.

It recently announced an authorized service center agreement with Honeywell under which it will offer maintenance, repair and service facilities for Honeywell engines TFE 731 and CFE 738 series along with Auxiliary Power Units (APUs).