China's - Orient Aviation

to “multiple providers” in the region andelsewhere. Bromberg is also working toconvince lessors that the programme willsuit their needs on the performance level,that intervals between shop visits will beacceptable and that they can retain the abilityto move engines around the world and stillget them repaired.There will likely to be more to comefrom P&W on the PMA front. “We willgo beyond the CFM56-3,” said Bromberg.“We are setting up the infrastructure andthe supply base. This is our first entry intothis area. We think it’s a valuable offering tothe industry.”PMA components manufactured byWencor are now being used by ChinaMROs and the business is growing, althoughattitudes on the Mainland are still veryconservative, according to Lorenzo Han,director of the company’s Singapore office.Southeast Asia is another matter.Regulatory authorities in Indonesia areopen to the proposition as is Malaysia,while Singapore allows “very individual”application. Wencor’s biggest partnershipin Asia is with Garuda’s GMF AeroAsiacompany, based at GMF’s maintenancefacility at Soekarno-Hatta internationalairport near Jakarta. It also supplies partsfor domestic operator, Merpati Nusantara.“Progress over the past two years hasbeen great, because of the competitionbetween airlines and the need to drive downcosts,” said Han. “PMAs can still be a stickypoint for many airlines, but we continue tolet them know there’s a lot of cost savingsinvolved that don’t affect the safety of theaircraft.“Our parts are proven with regularcustomers such as Japan Airlines. To thisday, there has been no fault [found] in anyof them.”China Eastern Airlines: signed a 15year joint venture with P&W for anengine overhaul facilityST Aero is one of 30 aerospace companiesalready based at Seletar AirportSingapore’s Seletar tobecome aviation parkWork is under way onan ambitious plan toturn Seletar airportin Singapore into anaerospace park withMRO operations at its core, helping cementthe Lion City’s position as Asia’s leadingmaintenance centre.Currently Singapore attracts 25% of theregion’s MRO business, employing morethan 17,000 people and bringing in S$6.32billion (US$4.27 billion) in revenue a year.The aim is to further harness an average12% increase recorded over each of the last15 years through a three-phase developmentat Seletar.Key to its success is the expansion of theold runway to better handle narrowbodies andbusiness aircraft. Widebodies will still need togo to Changi where a third runway currentlybeing built will increase access there.At present, A320s and B737s cannot landor take off with full fuel tanks from Seletar’s1,200 metre runway, meaning they must stopoff to fill up elsewhere on outward journeys – adisincentive in particular for time-conscious,low-cost carriers whose narrowbodies are amain target for businesses there. It will beexpanded to 1,800 metresby 2009 allowingSeletar to handle fullyladen narrowbodies,including the B757.Three developmentphases will see thepark grow by 140hectares in the next• Singapore attracts 25% of theregion’s MRO business• MRO companies employ morethan 17,000 people• and earn S$6.32 billion (US$4.27billion) in revenue a year.eight years by which time the region’s fleetis expected to have doubled. Facilities willincorporate MRO, design and manufacturingof aircraft systems and components, businessand general aviation activities and a trainingcampus, said a spokesman for Jurong TownCorporation (JTC) which is handlingplanning and development.The airport terminal building, roadsand general infrastructure are also beingupgraded, as are the runway apron,taxiways, power network and air trafficcontrol system.Currently some 30 aerospace companies,led by Singapore Technologies Aerospace(ST Aero) and Hawker Pacific, are based inhangars, barracks and bungalows at Seletar,Singapore’s first international airport thatlater became a military base.They will be offered space in a newcommercial building to be completed by theend of 2009.The development is good news forST Aero’s subsidiary, ST Engineering,which opened its third hangar, capableof handling one B757, at Seletar this yearand broke ground on another, which willbe able to take two B757s when completednext year.It will continueheavy maintenancewo r k a t C h a n g i , a swill SIA Technologies.ST Aero now has eightw i d e b o d y a n d 11narrowbody bays inSingapore.NOVEMBER 2007 ORIENT AVIATION 51