Etihad Engineering has bought forward maintenance work that was initially planned towards the end of the year on behalf of a number of operators from the world.
Current projects involve the delivery of cabin uplift, passenger to freighter conversion, longeron modification, heavy maintenance (C-check), major structural modification, parking solutions, painting and deep cleaning of aircraft for both Etihad Airways and third-party airline customers.
The MRO provider is currently collaborating with Etihad Airways on a major project to conduct a full cabin refresh on all 96 passenger aircraft. The refurbishment includes cabin renovations, interior detailing, seat repairs and a full sweep of the in-flight entertainment system. The refurbishment project is due to be completed by the end of June.
Frederic Dupont, Vice President Technical Sales & Customer Service, Etihad Engineering, stated: “While the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the aviation sector at large, we have been doing our best to find the opportunity amidst the crisis. We have taken advantage of the grounding period and used it to carry out maintenance services to ensure the entire fleet is operating at its optimal and will be uninterrupted by maintenance requirements as services return. The cabin refurbishment project is our most extensive collaboration with Etihad Airways to date, as we have been working on the entire passenger fleet of 96 aircraft within a concise time frame.”
Dupont added: “We will continue to go above and beyond to support all our customers during this challenging time and continue to deliver a differentiated customer experience for our airline clients. We understand that it may not be possible for some of our customers to be physically present with us as engineering work on their aircraft progresses, however we have embraced the technology available to communicate seamlessly with our clients based all over the world. Continuous footage of the maintenance progress is captured by GoPro cameras and shared back with our clients, and virtual meetings provide the latest updates. This is to ensure that we cater to our customers’ needs in the exact same manner as if they were here with us at our facilities”.
Every aircraft arriving at the facility for maintenance or parking undergoes a deep cleaning process by the disinfection team before any work commences. The team wear personal protective equipment and use a cleaning chemical well known for destroying viruses and bacteria, including COVID-19. It takes four hours to clean a narrowbody aircraft and eight hours for larger aircraft.
