SIA upgrades maintenance facility<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Singapore<\/p>\n
To reinstate its existence as a leading regional aircraft
\nmaintenance company, SIA Engineering Company Ltd, a subsidiary of
\nSingapore Airlines, is set to upgrade its maintenance hangar to
\naccommodate wide body aircraft and to provide faster repair
\nservice.<\/p>\n
The company will add an additional two airplane hangars from
\nthe current three with a total investment around US$10 million.<\/p>\n
Senior technical director of the company, George Goh, told The
\nJakarta Post that the hangars were aimed at accommodating the
\nlatest big-body Boeing 777-200\/300 commercial airplanes and to
\nincrease the capacity of the facilities from six airplanes at
\npresent to 10.<\/p>\n
\"In 2004, the two hangars will be in operation. The completion
\nof the facilities will put us as the first company in Asia with
\nthe ability to fix three B777-200\/300 at the same time,\" said
\nGoh.<\/p>\n
The B777-200\/300 is the latest series of commercial airplanes
\nmade by the United States' aviation giant Boeing Company.
\nSingapore Airlines currently has 37 of these type in operation.<\/p>\n
SIA Engineering was established in 1992 to maintain the
\nairplanes used by Singapore Airlines. In its development, the
\ncompany plans to take maintenance orders from other countries.<\/p>\n
The company, which employs 4,000 workers, currently has some
\n52 customers outside the SIA fleet, such as Air China, Federal
\nExpress and Northwest.<\/p>\n
According to Goh, each airplane maintenance contract could
\nreach up to US$3 million per year.<\/p>\n
Under the contract, an airplane must be put under light
\nmaintenance after 18,000 hours of flight, undergo frame and
\nengine overhaul after 20,000 hours of flight.<\/p>\n
\"For light maintenance, we usually probe the plane for any
\ncorrosion which always becomes the main problem for airplanes,\"
\nsaid Goh.<\/p>\n
The company, which occupies a 34,000 square-meter site,
\nmanaged to book a total profit of around US$200 million in 2001.
\nAirframe and component overhaul services accounted for 60 percent
\nof the company's revenue, while line maintenance and technical
\nground handling contributed 40 percent to the revenue. Currently,
\nthe company has the ability to handle line maintenance for 200
\nairplanes per day.<\/p>\n
The company is targeting a growth of 30 percent for 2003.<\/p>\n
Goh claimed that the company was the most advanced and
\ncomprehensive maintenance company in Asia as it was the only
\ncompany in the region that has the ability to fix the B777
\nairplane.<\/p>\n
\"Our main competitor in Asia is currently the Hong Kong
\nAircraft Engineering Company Ltd (HAECO) which has the ability of
\nhousing large body aircraft of three B747s side by side,\" said
\nGoh.<\/p>\n
When asked whether Indonesian airline companies had ever made
\nmaintenance contracts with the company, Goh said only the now-
\ndefunct Sempati Airlines.<\/p>\n
\"Well currently we haven't received airplanes from Indonesian
\nairline companies. I heard that Garuda Indonesia Airways (GIA)
\nhas a maintenance company that provides some kind of service for
\nIndonesian airlines,\" said Goh.<\/p>\n
Spokesman of Indonesia's Garuda Indonesian Airways (GIA),
\nPujobroto, noted that GIA has its own maintenance facility ran by
\nits subsidiary PT Garuda Maintenance Facility (GMF) which also
\naccepts maintenance orders from other airline companies.<\/p>\n
\"We will not send our planes to Singapore, since we already
\nhave the ability to fix them here,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sia-upgrades-maintenance-facility-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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