Ethiopian spends big for capacity building
Waiting for parts after it diverted to Malta following engine failure,
January 11, 2009
31 March, 2009
Capital - In an effort to equip itself to compete in increasingly aggressive aviation markets, Ethiopian Airlines is currently in the second year of a huge three year, 60 million dollars capacity building project.
Senior Ethiopian executives say the projects focal targets are to upgrade the airlines' capacity to maintain aircraft parts and to complete a new hangar construction that can accommodate two Boeing 747s.
The national carrier currently enjoys state of the art maintenance facilities that maintain not just its own aircraft, but also over 75 African and Middle Easter airlines. It maintains Boeing 767, 757, 727, and 737 and also Fokker 50 model airplanes and their components.
Approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and a number other international regulatory bodies, Ethiopian's maintenance facility covers 8,000 square metres and also provides modular and line maintenance services on PW2040 & PW4000 and CFM56-7B engines and full overhaul on JT8D, PW127 and PT6A engines.
Mesfin Tasew, vice president of Ethiopian Maintenance and Engineering explained the ongoing capacity building projects and the additional hangar that supports B-767s, should satisfy demands in the next six years.
"At the completion of the ongoing projects, we won't only upgrade our capacity immensely but will be able to maintain various parts of our aircraft by ourselves which we currently send abroad," Mesfin commented to Capital.
Mesfin also said preparations are underway for the arrival of the dreamliner, B-787s, which has been delayed repeatedly and expected to be realized in 15 months time with first delivery.
Hosting the 18th African Aviation Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) conference last week, just six months later from hosting similar conferences on African Aviation Finance, Ethiopian is encouraging cooperation amongst members of the African aviation industry.
Mesfin promised participants of the conference that Ethiopian MRO operations, which have a long term business plan of becoming independent from the airlines' other operations, would seriously consider partnerships and other forms of cooperation with other African MRO facilities when it realized its dream.
Nick Fadugba, chairman of the African Aviation conference said, potential cooperation between African MRO facility for example between Ethiopian and South African Airways would not only help to keep resource that would leave the continent otherwise, but will improve such services significantly for fellow African airlines.
The two day annual conference was concluded by Airbus dinner last Wednesday in the presence of over 200 representatives from the aviation industry.
Girma Wake, Ethiopian CEO, closed the conference at the Sheraton Addis.