24th January, 2014 – Monarch Aircraft Engineering Limited (MAEL) yesterday (23rd January) hosted The Rt. Hon. Danny Alexander, MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, at its new maintenance hangar during his tour of Birmingham Airport.
The multi-million pound facility, which opened in November 2013, has already created 150 new jobs for the region, and this will increase shortly with the opening of 2014 applications for MAEL’s apprenticeship scheme.
More than 700 people have been through the highly regarded scheme since its inception. Not only does the scheme help create jobs in the local community, it also provides an essential pipeline of skilled aircraft engineers for MAEL and the wider industry.
Derek Gibson, Maintenance and Operations Director of MAEL who hosted Mr Alexander during his visit to the hangar, said:
“Investment in training and skills is crucial to the continuing success of MAEL and underpins the quality of Monarch Airlines’ flying, and the opening of our new hangar has enabled us to considerably expand our programme of recruitment and apprenticeships.
“We were delighted to have the opportunity to show Danny Alexander how this investment is paying dividends for the region.”
MAEL’s new 110,000 sq ft facility can accommodate almost every aircraft type in its two bays, incorporates industry-leading design and build standards, and is one of the first to have the capacity for Boeing 787 Dreamliner maintenance, with sufficient capacity for other wide body aircraft, such as the Boeing 777, 747 and Airbus A350.
It is large enough to accommodate two Boeing 777-300ER aircraft or 10 narrow-body aircraft and will contain a number of component-repair and back shops. The vast building, covering c2.5 acres is big enough to house four full size football pitches, 2400 Minis or 450 double decker buses.
The Birmingham hangar is now enabling MAEL to service a greater share of the growing market for aircraft maintenance service in the UK and Europe. Its own third-party (i.e. non-Monarch Airlines) maintenance activities have grown to 31% of business in 2013 from 18% in 2010, and over the next two years this is planned to increase to almost 40% of turnover. This is consolidating MAEL’s position in the top 10 largest airframe MRO organisations in Europe.
About Monarch Aircraft Engineering
Monarch Aircraft Engineering Ltd (MAEL) is a division of The Monarch Group, a leading UK-based travel Group which also comprises Monarch Airlines and the tour operating and holiday companies Cosmos Holidays, Avro and somewhere2stay. The Group has a turnover of approximately £1 billion, offers airline capacity of over 8 million sector seats, has tour operating passenger volumes of some 915,000 customers, and employs 3,000 staff. To find out more about The Monarch Group, please visit www.monarchholdingslimited.com.
MAEL is an award-winning UK-based MRO focusing on cost-efficient service delivery to both Monarch Airlines and blue-chip third-party customers. MAEL has recently been listed in the top 10 MROs for Europe, Middle East and North Africa and in May 2012 was elected MRO of choice among its peer group and suppliers. In January 2013 MAEL was named MRO of the Year, a highly prestigious aviation industry accolade voted upon by aviation industry customers.
MAEL operates globally, supporting clients located in east and west Europe, Middle East, Australia and North America. MAEL has superior knowledge in maintaining legacy fleets and is also a leading MRO for new technology aircraft, including the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, for which it is one of only six worldwide Boeing-approved GoldCare providers.
To find out more about Monarch Aircraft Engineering www.monarchaircraftengineering.com
