Empire Aero Center has been awarded a contract for heavy maintenance checks for up to 25 JetBlue Airways aircraft to begin in early 2009. This comes on the heels of the company’s success in delivering each of the nine aircraft worked so far this year on, or ahead of schedule.
Though the company would not disclose the value of the contract, it noted that it entails checks of Airbus A320 planes. There was no information on whether the contract would mean additions to the company’s 460 employees.
These planes need to be checked every 15 months, said Empire Aero North American Sales Director Rob Tilson. The work, which takes about 15 days per plane, includes taking off the landing gear, checking all external control surfaces and refurbishing the planes’ interiors.
"We couldn’t be more pleased with the quality of work that Empire Aero Center has performed on our aircraft," said JetBlue Airways Director of Maintenance Frank Buratti. "On-time delivery is a must in this industry and EAC has proved to be capable of delivering quality, on-time service with a competitive price tag."
Tilson has had his sights set on partnering with JetBlue since joining the company in 2006. "This partnership serves to solidify our vision of Empire Aero Center becoming a North American Airbus center of excellence," Tilson said. "JetBlue Airways is exactly the kind of key blue-chip customer that will make that vision a reality."
In addition to JetBlue Airways, EAC is performing maintenance and in partnership with Virgin America, Air Canada, and Deutsche Bank, performing heavy checks and in-flight entertainment system modifications for their Airbus aircraft.
EAC has also been performing maintenance on Boeing 747s and 777s for TransAero Airlines, a Russian-based commercial carrier.
Empire Aero Center in the Griffiss Business and Technology Park is a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries North America. The recently renovated facility includes 525,000 square feet of hangar and support shops including a 50,000 square foot aircraft strip and paint facility. A 53,000 square foot aircraft bay was recently added in Building 100 adjacent to the main facility and there are plans to further expand with two additional aircraft bays in excess of 50,000 square feet each as well as office and back shop space in both locations.
The company’s sales more than doubled to $39 million in 2007. The company’s goal for this year is around $50 million in sales. The long-term goal is to break $100 million by 2011 and have 700 employees.
