BizJet International to Finish First A318 Elite Completion

BizJet International, Lufthansa Technik's hundred percent US subsidiary, will finish the completion of its first Airbus A318 Elite still this year. The first aircraft equipped in Tulsa/Oklahoma will be delivered to Airbus with an FAA- and EASA-Supplemental Type Certificate for delivery to the customer. At the same time work starts on the second Airbus A318 Elite which will be delivered in the middle of 2010.

"The shift of the successful Airbus A318 Elite completion program from Hamburg to Tulsa started excellently and from midyear 2010 the program will be completely performed by BizJet", said August Wilhelm Henningsen, Chairman of the Executive Board of Lufthansa Technik. "Thus we have enough capacity to supply the demand for A318 Elite completion and can fully concentrate in Hamburg on the individual completion of widebody VIP- and business jets."

In Hamburg, Lufthansa Technik has already produced and delivered eight A318 Elite aircraft, work being in progress on another one. With one more A318 Elite aircraft the program in Hamburg will be completed till midyear 2010.

The eight Airbus A318 Elite so far contracted for BizJet in Tulsa will be delivered to Airbus and the customers by 2013.

BizJet invested about three million USD in the expansion of the infrastructure, i.e. extension of shops and acquisition of new machines as well as employee training. "For this reason," says Bernd Kowalewski, President and CEO of BizJet, "our company now has a good basis for further expansion of the VIP business. At BizJet we now can also offer the completion capacities and competences the market demands."

With 200 employees, BizJet, part of the Lufthansa Technik Group since 2000, offers the complete spectrum of MRO services for VIP and business aircraft plus comprehensive fixed base operator services. The company's portfolio includes business aircraft such as the Gulfstream plus narrow-bodies such as the Boeing BBJ. After the completion of comprehensive cabin modifications - for two government BBJs among others - BizJet will expand its offering in this business segment.

BizJet avails of a total of 32,000 square meters of hangar capacity and a variety of workshops for servicing and outfitting the aircraft.

Lufthansa Technik:

The Lufthansa Technik Group, with more than 30 subsidiaries and about 26,000 employees worldwide, is one of the leading manufacturer-independent providers of services for the aviation industry. In 2008, the Group's overall revenues stood at 3.7 billion euros. Lufthansa Technik is licensed internationally as a repair, production and development enterprise. The Group's portfolio encompasses the entire spectrum of services in the areas of maintenance, repair, overhaul, modification and conversion, engines and components.