Emirates plans Dubai engine-repair facility

The Dubai-based airline has signed a letter of intent with General Electric Company to oversee the design and construction of the facility and work is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2012. It will be one of the biggest GE workshops in the world outside of the US.

“The establishment of an engine shop reemphasises Emirates’ commitment to providing the highest standard of in-house maintenance to its fleet, utilising best practices,” said Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group. “The engine shop will create over 500 new job opportunities, with a large percentage of these to be occupied by UAE nationals,” he added.

The facility will have the capability of undertaking 300 engine repairs each year for the GE90 and GP7000 engines fitted to the Boeing B777 and Airbus A380 aircraft. It will be constructed over a 90,000 square metre land and will complement an existing engine overhaul facility in Dubai.

“Emirates already has a long-standing relationship with GE for its Boeing 777-200LR, 777-300ER and 777F engines, all of which are powered by the GE90 family. This new deal to cover engine maintenance for the A380 engines (GP7200 variant) means that the airline can not only specialise in specific A380 engine overhaul, but allows GE to reach other A380 customers in the region for future business,” Saj Ahmad, Chief Analyst at FBE Aerospace, London, told Khaleej Times.

At present, the airline has a test cell facility and its current engine shop is limited to module replacements only. “It is anticipated that construction will commence by first quarter of 2012 and commissioned by the fourth quarter of 2014,” the airline said in a statement from the Paris Air Show.

“We are very pleased and proud to be working with Emirates in supporting the building of the engine shop and to use GE expertise in this field to introduce best industry practices in managing engine repairs,” said Muhammad Al Lamadani, Senior Executive Sales, VP GE International Inc.

The fast-growing airline said the growth of its fleet and subsequent number of operating engines has necessitated the need for an in-house engine facility. “The growth of the Emirates fleet and the subsequent number of operating engines have necessitated the need for an in-house engine shop in Dubai to provide the most cost-effective, efficient engine maintenance,” the airline said.

Emirates has 90 A380s on order and is targeting a fleet of 120. It has about the same number of 777s in operation or on order, making it the model’s top user.

“The intention of the new engine shop is to support the requirements of Emirates’ 153 aircraft,” the airline said, adding that it could consider additional third-party work in the facility.

Saj Ahmad said the scale of the plans to build this new facility relates not only because Emirates has 90 A380’s on order, but also because the airline has said time and again that it wishes to expand its A380 fleet and also its engineering capability to push down on outsourcing costs over the life of an airplane.

“With this expansion, Emirates and Dubai will be able to boast of one of the biggest GE workshops in the world outside of the United States,” he added.

muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE