Page 25 - AAA JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2018 Online Magazine

hour support contract for Kuwait Airways’ GE90-115B engines
on its 10 777-300ER aircraft.
Ameco Beijing, which is targeting a spot among the world’s
top-five MROs in the next five years, is focusing on the Middle
East in a big way to achieve its goal. The company, which
has line maintenance contracts with Middle Eastern carriers
such as Etihad, Royal Jordanian Airlines, Qatar Airways and
Saudia, also provides heavy maintenance for Iraqi Airways’
widebody fleet. Chromalloy Arabia, a joint venture between
Chromalloy and Arabian Qudra, and headquartered in Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia, has a sales and customer support office in the
Dubai Airport Free Zone. Even engine OEMs have been keen
to tap the region’s potential; GE Aviation opened its Middle
East Aviation Technology Center in Dubai late in 2015.

MRO companies in the region are doing their bit to
ward off competition. Etihad Airways Engineering,
the largest commercial aircraft MRO provider in the
Middle East, has teamed up with Airbus for joint
A380 MRO services at Etihad’s heavy maintenance
center in Abu Dhabi.

The challenge for independent MROs in the region is that
much of the work will be cornered by the MRO wings of the
major carriers in the region. Airlines such as Emirates, Etihad
and Saudia all have their own MRO shops, thus making it
difficult for third party MROs to build up a solid customer
base. Experts say that the increasing success of low cost
carriers in the region offers hope for independent MROs that
are looking for their piece of the pie.

aircraft engineering services for its A320
aircraft, is said to have plans for further
expansion in the region.
As part of its plans to be a major player
in the region, SR Technics opened a train-
ing center in Abu Dhabi late in 2016. Air
France KLM E&M, which has opened a
logistics center in the Jebel Ali Free Zone
near Dubai World Central International
Airport for composites repair, has plenty
of work in the region. At the 2017 Dubai Air
Show, the company bagged a full compo-
nent support contract for Saudia’s 787-9
fleet, a full engine support contract for Air
Arabia’s A320 aircraft, as well as by-the-

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