Farnborough, England, July 19th, 2010: Viking Air of Victoria, BC, Canada and Avtrak LLC of Littleton, Colorado, USA have entered into a multi-year agreement for the use of the Avtrak GlobalnetTM platform to assist operators with their aircraft maintenance program management needs. The program, known as Viking MX will be managed by Viking’s customer support division “ATLAS” (Aircraft Technical Liaison And Support).
The Viking MX system will allow operators to easily plan, track and schedule maintenance activities, maintain regulatory compliance, and work closely with the OEM in monitoring overall aircraft systems reliability. Furthermore it will offer our customers with mixed fleets the option of tracking all of their aircraft with a single system.
“Having a factory provided maintenance management service is another key component of our overall customer support objectives,” commented Robert Mauracher, vice president Business Development and general manager, MRO. “Viking Mx will allow ATLAS to monitor fleet reliability by ATA chapter and assist in forecasting fleet material needs, thus ensuring the highest reliability possible”.
“We are excited to be selected by Viking to provide to their customers a first class, industry proven solution,” said Joe Hertzler, Avtrak’s CEO. “Avtrak’s convenient web access, system speed and ease of use make Avtrak GlobalNetTM the perfect system for all Viking customers worldwide.”
Viking will be including the Viking MX maintenance tracking service with all new Twin Otter Series 400 aircraft deliveries, as well as offering the program to existing operators of legacy de Havilland aircraft. The program will further enhance Viking’s comprehensive factory support network currently covering its global customer base.
Also growing the ATLAS network offerings, Viking has appointed Texas Air Services Inc. as a Factory Endorsed Component Centre (“FECC”) for the Twin Otter Series 400 and legacy de Havilland aircraft. Under the agreement, Texas Air Services will provide factory certified service and warranty repairs on rotable components for the new Series 400 and legacy Twin Otter aircraft.
Texas Air Services, a US based FAA & EASA approved repair station located in Dickinson, Texas, has been providing support for DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft for over fifteen years, and was selected for the FECC program due to their dedicated focus on repair and overhaul of landing gear and components, specialized repair applications, and innovation. Arvin Holland, Texas Air Services president, noted that “the FECC program will help Texas Air Services promote an entirely new level of customer satisfaction in line with factory standards.”
The FECC program develops strategic partnerships with select industry professionals to provide factory certified service and warranty repairs on components for both the new Viking Series 400 Twin Otter and legacy de Havilland fleet. Viking launched the new DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 400 production program in 2007, and currently has a production backlog estimated at over $200M through 2014. Viking provides OEM support for the worldwide fleet of de Havilland heritage line of aircraft (DHC-1 through DHC-7), and is part of Westerkirk Capital Inc., a Canadian private investment firm with substantial holdings in the hospitality, aviation and real estate sectors.
