Royal Jordanian signs contract for new hangar

Aertec and Consolidated Consultants (CC) are two international firms that specialise in designing aircraft hangars. Royal Jordanian president and ceo Hussein Dabbas signed the contract with Aertec ceo Antonio Gomez and Consolidated Consultants ceo Said Abujaber.

The new hangar is bound to handle 'A check' level and unscheduled maintenance works, such as change of engine, Auxiliary Power Unit (APU), landing gear and others, for all Royal Jordanian (RJ) aircraft models, including the Boeing 787 Dreamliners scheduled to join the fleet at the beginning of 2014. Part of the new hangar will also include an engine build-up unit consisting of airframe parts, accessories, hardware and electrical items.

The design of the new 20,500m2 aircraft hangar is slated for completion at the end 2011.

The construction will start early next year and is expected to finish in December 2012, after which RJ will start maintenance activities. The facility will be able to accommodate one wide-bodied plus two narrow-bodied aircraft at a time.

Mr Dabbas said: “Royal Jordanian is pleased to coordinate with Aertec and CC to design and supervise this state-of-the-art maintenance facility, which will make Jordan a key aircraft maintenance hub in the region, along with the Jordan Aircraft Maintenance Company (JorAMCo) and Jordan Airmotive Limited Company (JALCo)."

He added that the new RJ maintenance facility will enable Royal Jordanian to maintain the highest safety standards, as well as keep the existing and future fleet in the best possible condition.

According to the RJ president, performing “A checks” and unscheduled maintenance at the new RJ facility will save the airline around JD1 million annually, particularly that such maintenance will rely on the RJ manpower and not resort to outsourcing. It is also bound to mitigate the flight schedule reliability risk due to skilled labour shortages locally and globally.

Mr Dabbas said that the new hangar will enhance the RJ competitive edge; hence, so the airline has a greater opportunity to increase technical handling and aircraft maintenance of other airlines’ aircraft. Gomez said: “This project adds to Aertec’s extensive track record of successfully completed projects in the aviation and aerospace industry, and strengthens our expanding operation in the Middle East.

“We are happy that RJ is seeking to benefit from our long experience in designing aviation facilities for airports and aircraft manufacturers in many countries in Europe and elsewhere. Our joint venture with CC reflects RJ’s desire to receive the highest quality of consultancy services and arrive at a timely implementation of the project.”

Mr Abujaber said: “We are glad to see Royal Jordanian - our national carrier - take steps to improve its operations and provide the highest level of services and safety to its passengers and fleet by upgrading its facilities and adding new world-class standard service and maintenance facilities. This will have a positive impact on the national economy in general.”

"Selecting CC, with a track record of national and international awards in excellence - King Abdullah II Award for Excellence being the latest - along with our joint venture partner Aertec of Spain, who are specialised in providing aviation services, is a testimony that RJ is implementing its vision for high quality service.”

The new RJ hangar will be built according to American standards, using environment friendly units and taking into consideration green building requirements and value engineering studies in which the life cycle, cost and quality of the project are evaluated and considered.