High-flier: One of Garuda Indonesia’s aircraft undergoes regular maintenance at the PT GMF AeroAsia. GMF aims to strengthen its position in the Asia region by signing 12 contracts at the biennial Singapore Airshow 2012. (JP/Nurhayati)
Maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) firm PT GMF Aero Asia aims to strengthen its position in the Asia region by signing 12 contracts at the biennial Singapore Airshow 2012.
“GMF AeroAsia only participates in two air shows, the Dubai Airshow and the Singapore Airshow,” said GMF vice president of marketing and sales Jemsly Hutabarat in a written statement sent to The Jakarta Post on Friday.
“We will sign contracts on aircraft and engine maintenance with a number of airlines, both existing and new customers.”
The airlines include Indonesian ones such as Travira Air and Sriwijaya Air as well as those based abroad such as Bangladesh-based United Airways; India-based Jet Airways; Nigeria-based HAG LAG Incorporation, Thailand-based NOK Air; US-based CIT Leasing Corporation and Orix Aviation; Vietnam-based VietJet Air; and Zimbabwe-based Avient.
Most of the contracts will be for airframe, engine and component maintenance for aircraft made by Airbus, Boeing and McDonnell Douglas as well as CFM56-3 engines. The engines, made by CFM international -- a 50:50 venture between American General Electric and French SNECMA -- power popular narrow body Boeing 737-300/400/500 Classic series.
Jemsly said GMF would use the Singapore Airshow, which runs from Feb. 14-19, to conduct market penetration efforts, especially for the Asian region, by relying on its having been certified by civil aviation authorities such as the US FAA and European EASA, to meet customers’ demands.
He said that in the past two years, the aircraft MRO market had shifted from Europe and the US to the Asia-Pacific region, which is enjoying fast growth due to more competitive labor costs.
“With more competitive prices, the quality of products and services of MRO companies in Asia Pacific is on par with those in Europe and the US,” Jemsly said.
“GMF is aiming to grab the huge potentials by increasing our capabilities.”
He said GMF was committed to developing its capabilities by mastering the maintenance of the newest aircraft types, especially Boeing 737 NG series and Airbus A320 series. GMF has been certified by both FAA and EASA for various maintenance schedules from A-Check to C-Check for both types of aircraft.
“These two types of aircraft are widely used by airlines both abroad and at home due to their being fuel efficient,” Jemsly said. “They are also known to be more environmentally friendly.”
GMF, which has a 70 percent MRO market share in Indonesia, considers the Singapore Airshow a strategic event because the biannual event is the showcase of the MRO industry in Indonesia, especially with the presence of global MRO firms SIAEC and ST Aerospace, which are based in Singapore.
“Geographically, Singapore Airshow’s location is quite advantageous for GMF. Prospective customers can directly see GMF’s facilities in Cengkareng by taking a mere one-hour flight,” Jemsly said.
GMF facilities are located in the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport compound.
