At the end of August, the agreement between Alestis and ADS was formalized to carry out the activities of changing the engines of an A400M, specifically the MSN028 belonging to the Turkish Air Force. With this mission, a team of 6 people in the area of services, composed of personnel from Sevilla, Getafe and Toulouse, has shifted to the military base in Kayseri, where they will stay until 22 September.
This group is led by the coordinator of the Seville Services team and the coordinator of the France team.
The coordinator of the Seville Services team emphasizes the opportunity of this new experience: “it is the first time that Alestis has carried out this type of engine change execution in an A400M at a foreign military base. The whole team is very motivated, wanting to do very well and set the bar high ”.
For the displaced team, carrying out these maintenance activities directly on the aircraft is a notable part of this experience, very different from the work they usually do in the plant.
The coordinator of the France team, highlights the professionalism and ability of the team to adapt to this new environment: “We are all very excited, we have received congratulations from our Turkish colleagues for the good performance. We are going to leave Alestis at the top because we are aware that this is a unique opportunity to open the door to more workload ”.
The execution of this type of activities requires specific training on the regulations of the European Agency for Safety (EASA) Part 145, relative to the Management and Organization of Aircraft Maintenance Centers.
Once the growth opportunities that this business segment was experiencing were identified, last July, a training process for the Customer Support & Services team began, given by ADS and the Ministry of Development, to have qualified personnel and to be able to respond swiftly to any request for additional workload that may arise as a result of ongoing commercial actions in the MRO area. The Head of CS&S explains: “we are currently very focused on the commercial development of MRO, Services and Training activities, establishing relationships with potential clients, both civil and military, to take advantage of this business opportunity and be able to materialize new workload in A near future". The Alestis team has an experience of more than 10 years carrying out support activities, in the FAL of Toulouse for the A350 XWB program, in Saint Nazaire for the A350 XWB / A330, in the FAL of Seville and the Maestranza Aérea of Seville for the A400M, in the conversion of the A330MRTT in Getafe and in the Embraer FAL in Sao José dos Campos (Brazil). This technical knowledge and the good results obtained have been recognized by the client and represent an opportunity for growth to position itself in this market segment.