First Class Air recently announced the acquisition of Vertical Aerospace, expanding the network’s maintenance, repair and overhaul capabilities.

By acquiring the Oklahoma-based MRO, First Class Air is adding new services to its portfolio, such as:

• Complex aircraft structural repair
• Engineering
• Fabricated parts manufacturing

Under the acquisition, Vertical Aerospace will keep its operations going at its Bristow facility, servicing commercial, military and cargo aircraft. Key services that Vertical Aerospace specializes in include:

• Nacelles and thrust reversers
• Flight control surfaces
• Composite and metallic structural repair
• Cowlings
• Duct
• Exhaust components
• Engineering and repair development
• Fabrication
• Non-destructive testing (NDT)
• Specialized processing

Much of these specialized services are enabled by Vertical Aerospace’s Bristow facility, which contains resources and tools like:

• Autoclave and clean room
• Phosphoric acid anodize and cleaning capabilities
• Heat treat
• Welding
• Laser tracking
• Engineering and design systems
• Specialized manufacturing and repair equipment

Vertical Aerospace’s quality system is also AS9100 Rev. D certified, and the company holds FAA and EASA repair station certifications.

First Class Air CEO Isac Roths said, “Vertical Aerospace is a great addition to First Class Air providing another highly experienced team and differentiated capabilities which complement the services we provide across our organization.”

Roths continued, “Our focus has always been on finding better ways to solve problems for our customers and keep their aircraft operating.”

“By bringing Vertical Aerospace’s structural repair, engineering and fabricated part manufacturing expertise together with our existing distribution, MRO, DER, PMA, teardown and exchange capabilities, we can provide customers with even more solutions through one integrated company,” noted Roths.

Vertical Aerospace Founder and General Manager Tray Siegfried said, “Joining First Class Air creates an exciting opportunity for Vertical Aerospace, our employees and our customers.”

Siegfried continued, “We have built Vertical around technical expertise, creative problem solving and a commitment to making it easy for our customers to do business with us. Those principles align extremely well with First Class Air.”

“We will continue serving our customers with the same team and commitment they know today, while gaining access to a much broader network of capabilities and resources for growth that will allow us to provide even more solutions in the future,” added Siegfried.