JETS marks 10 years of independent MRO: Sees early success from its London Biggin Hill base.

Friday 9th May 2014

JETS, the expanding UK business aviation MRO, is marking ten years of operation this year as it enters a period of strong, stable growth.  The company, part of the 328 Group, has enjoyed a positive response to its second UK home at London Biggin Hill Airport since acquiring at the end of 2012.  This saw the company expand into Dassault Falcon maintenance which has resulted in more operators and owners of the Falcon 2000 and 900 turning to JETS, as an Authorised Service Centre.  Some 40% of its customers at the Biggin Hill facility are 'new' customers and Dassault activity alone grew 35% over 2013.  Currently, JETS is working on a pre-purchase inspection for a Lebanese customer for the original manufacturer.

"In the next 12 months we hope to further expand our remit with Dassault and undertake additional work on aircraft in the expanding family. We also intend to bolster our work on the Challenger 300 at Biggin Hill, and have recently appointed more engineers dedicated to the type," says JETS' Managing Director Alan Barnes.

With an overall increase in business from Continental Europe, Middle East and the UK JETS last month set up a new mobile rapid response team for AOG servicing.

Jet Engineering Technical Support Ltd (JETS) was originally established at Southampton Airport to offer maintenance on the Hawker aircraft and expanded into Challenger and Learjet work following its move to Bournemouth Airport four years ago.  One of the first aircraft the company looked after in its early years was a Hawker 800XP - that same aircraft is now back with JETS.

"We are seeing two distinct groups of customers within our UK facilities," notes Alan Barnes.   At Biggin many clients tend to be HNWIs bringing their aircraft in for lengthy, major checks.  They appreciate the discreet location of our facility and its close proximity to London, where they can arrive unnoticed and enjoy the comfortable business environment of the onsite FBO. The FBO was sold to BBA Aviation in March, who continue to run the facility as Signature Aviation.

"Our Bournemouth operation remains focused on supporting heavy base maintenance needs of the Hawker and Challenger fleets, with customers from all over the EMEA region selecting JETS to support their needs.   It is frequented more by corporate companies who tend to fly in at short notice for short, regular checks.  Both sites, with an experienced workforce of 30 and 35 respectively, complement each other," he added.

JETS management team was boosted with the appointment early this year of Derick Naude as Senior Sales and Commercial Officer. Derick joined from Embraer UK where he was customer support engineer and has previously worked with Hawker Beechcraft and ExecuJet.

Alan Barnes and Derick Naude head up the JETS' sales team exhibiting at EBACE in Geneva this month - May 20-22.  Stand 5546

About JETS:

JETS was established in October 2004, initially to provide MRO services to Hawker 125s.  Today it boasts a broad range of engineering capabilities at both its Bournemouth and Biggin Hill locations in aircraft maintenance, avionics installation, refurbishment, exterior painting, Part M services and hangarage.  Under its EASA Part-145 approvals, JETS carries  out scheduled base maintenance and defect rectification, through minor and major modification embodiment to full cabin interior refurbishment in conjunction with its sister company 328 based in Germany, a full EASA Part 21G level 1A (Design) and Part 21J (Manufacture) approved company.  It is an Authorised Service Centre (ASC) for Dassault Aviation enabling it to undertake line maintenance on the Falcon 900 and 2000 at its Biggin Hill facility.

About the 328 Group:

The 328 Groupbased in the UK and Germanyoffers a broad spectrum of services to the aircraft industry. The Group employs over 200 aviation experts and supports more than 200 aircraft globally. Services offered range from maintenance and painting to STC design activities, parts' manufacture and support on numerous types of aircraft, bespoke VIP interiors including avionic and IFE upgrades.

www.jets.eu