| SME Aviation targets bigger aircraft maintenance market
thestar-onlie - Wednesday, January 5 2005 AIRCRAFT maintenance company SME Aviation Sdn Bhd aims to capture a 5% slice of the global aircraft maintenance market, worth about US$18bil annually.
Chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Yunus Mohd Tasi said global demand for the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of aircraft was strong and growing rapidly.
He said world air cargo traffic was expected to triple in the next 20 years, or expand at an average annual rate of more than 6%.
“A total of 2,950 airplanes would join the freighter fleet by 2023,” Yunus said, adding that three quarters of these additional aircraft were expected to come from passenger-to-freighter conversions.
“If we are to capture a significant slice of this market, it's important to act now,” he told reporters after the launch of its services in Subang on Monday.
Chief executive officer Ahmad Fuzli Fuad said there were several independent MRO companies, but SME Aviation was the world's first independent, budget-based MRO company.
“Our rates are highly competitive, modelled along low-cost carriers in the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.
Fuzli also said SME Aviation would initially provide MRO services to countries in the region before going global.
“Currently, we provide MRO services for Boeing aircraft at our base in Subang, but if we are to service aircraft globally, we will need to ensure that our services are tailored to our customers needs, and attractively priced as well,” he said.
Fuzli said, currently, most of the aircraft in the region were serviced either in-house by the respective airlines' MRO departments, or through independent MROs based in Singapore.
“We will focus on providing MRO services to commercial aircraft operators at very competitive prices, while maintaining the highest standard in terms of quality, timeliness and customer satisfaction,” he said.
SME Aviation expects to achieve RM10mil to RM15mil in its first year of operation.
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