GE facility in Qatar set to receive engines for upkeep

The GE Aviation On-Wing Support Middle East & Africa quick turn engine maintenance facility located in Qatar Science & Technology Park as a part of the GE Advanced Technology & Research Centre, will start inducting engines for maintenance very soon.

The On-Wing Support facility in Qatar is the newest addition to GE's On Wing Support global footprint, which includes locations in Cincinnati and Dallas in the US, and London, Seoul, and Shanghai. The first of its kind in the region, the facility received European Aviation Safety Agency approval on April 19 this year to be an aeronautical engine repair station. "We are training engineers from all airlines in the region in our state-of-the-art facility since opening in April 2011 and now we are ready to receive engines for maintenance activities," Omer Fayyaz, technical planner and logistics co-ordinator, told Gulf Times. Business leader Tyrone Jones, who landed in Qatar in April 2011 to set up shop after being involved with On Wing Support from London for five years, explained that his team has been qualified to work on five engines within a short span of 12 months. "The engine models we will support are the CFM56, GE90-115B, CF34, GEnx, and GP7200, the best engines in their class, from GE, the largest manufacturer of aircraft engines in the world, and its joint venture partners," he stated. The newest star of the pack is the GEnx, described by quality leader Sukhvinder Singh as 'the engine of the future and the greenest engine GE has ever produced.' GEnx engines will power Qatar Airways' Boeing 787 aircraft, with the airline, the launch customer in the Middle East, scheduled to take delivery later this year. GE90, the most powerful engine in aviation history, is used in all of Qatar Airways' Boeing 777 fleet, and GP7200 will power the Airbus A380 superjumbo. "The On Wing Support Technicians fly out to customers throughout the region to provide on or off wing engine maintenance service for a variety of aircraft," Jones said. GE Aviation On Wing Support Middle East & Africa has 15 staff and two interns based in Qatar. Both the interns are graduates from Texas A& M University at Qatar. "GE shares Qatar's vision on developing the country's human resources and hence undertakes the challenges of creating opportunities for interns to learn a portion of the aviation business," Jones observed. GE Aviation, also committed to increase awareness about aviation in the society, works with Qatar Aeronautical College and hosts tours for schools.

"The recent 'My School, My Farm' project, launched by Qatar Green Centre, was supported by GE volunteers, to raise awareness on the need to inculcate homestead farming and other easy-to-apply agricultural practices," Singh recalled. GE Aviation has come closer to its customers by opening the Qatar facility and placed the country on the global map of high technology and research, added Fayyaz.

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