Istanbul Could Become Distribution Center for Aircraft Parts & Inventories

Turkish Technic, the aircraft maintenance subsidiary of Turkey’s national carrier Turkish Airlines (THY), could transform İstanbul into a regional hub in its field, a top executive of the American aerospace and defense company Boeing has said.

“Turkish Technic, together with THY, has very ambitious growth points. It also has an ideal geographical location in the world. I see no obstacle to İstanbul becoming a regional distribution center for aircraft parts and inventories,” Lou Mancini, Boeing’s senior vice president of commercial aviation services, told Sunday’s Zaman in İstanbul. It was Turgut Özal’s, a former Turkish president that passed away on Apr. 17, 1993, dream to make Turkey a regional aircraft maintenance and aircraft parts hub. An advocate of the free-market in Turkey, Özal was also one of the driving forces behind the success of THY as well as Turkish Technic. He replaced retired generals with well-trained managers and started the privatization of the company, which was basically the first step towards of making THY a world-class airline.

Since Özal’s push for privatization, the government’s stake in THY has been reduced to 49.12 percent and its fleet increased to 164 aircraft, including five cargo planes. By modernizing its jetliners, THY managed to reach a net profit of $191 million in 2010 and increased its Available Seat Kilometer (ASK) and Revenue Passenger Kilometer (RPK) by 15 percent and 20 percent, respectively.

The number of domestic passengers in 2006 was only 8.9 million, whereas in 2010 it edged near 14 million. When looking at international flights — to more than 130 locations around the world — THY almost doubled its number of passengers between 2006 (8 million) and 2010 (15.5 million). Turkey’s flag carrier’s 2010 successes are also not to be ignored; Skytrax named THY Eastern Europe’s best airline and Air Transport World (ATW) chose THY as the market leader in 2010 and much more.

In line with THY’s successes over the years, Turkish Technic has also shown noteworthy growth. Having an aircraft maintenance and repair center at İstanbul’s Atatürk International Airport, the company offers a variety of maintenance services, including engine maintenance for both Boeing and Airbus aircrafts. With plans to open another maintenance center at the second airport in İstanbul — Sabiha Gökçen International Airport — by the end of this year, the company aims to provide high-class safety services for jetliners all around the world.

The importance of Turkish Technic both for THY and making İstanbul a regional aircraft maintenance hub is because “flight safety” is at the core of the aviation sector. Mancini also has similar views and said that for him it’s all about safety, efficiency and reliability since the real work basically starts right after the product — the airplane — has been sold to the customer.

As the aviation sector expands, the need for technical expertise will increase. Turkish Technic has the advantage of being the repair and maintenance company of a fast-growing aviation company like THY. Also, knowing the fact that Boeing is ready to support Turkish Technic’s growth strategy to become a regional player in the commercial aviation services, the company is not far from becoming one of the world’s leading repair and maintenance company’s in its region.

Mancini also noted that they are very interested in working with Turkish Technic and in supporting their growth strategy and seeing the company become a regional player in the field of technical aviation services.

08 May 2011
SOURCE: TODAYS ZAMAN