Aircelle Spotlight

Aircelle’s AMES joint venture delivers its first repaired thrust reverser

August 24, 2010

The first repair and overhaul of a complete thrust reverser has been completed by the United Arab Emirates’ AMES joint venture – created by Aircelle and Air France Industries KLM E&M – with the C-duct unit for a Trent 700 engine delivered to Bahrain national airline Gulf Air.

This task followed the certification of Dubai-based AMES (Aerostructures Middle East Services) as a Part 145 repair facility by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) airworthiness authorities.

"We chose AMES because besides being an EASA Part 145 approved organization, it has the required expertise to meet our requirements – and has combined the reputation and know-how of a recognized maintenance, repair and overhaul operation in AFI KLM E&M; along with the technological expertise of an original equipment manufacturer in Aircelle,” said Jamal Hashim, the Director of Engineering and Airworthiness at Gulf Air.

AMES was set up to provide Middle East customers with local support for the maintenance of their fleets of commercial aircraft including Airbus A320s, A330s, A340-500/-600s, A380s, Boeing 777s and Embraer ERJ170s.

"AMES complied with the requirements of Gulf Air and met its commitments in terms of both turnaround time and responsiveness," explained François Vitti, the AMES Manager of Operations and Customer Support.

Antoine Succar, AMES’ General Manager, added that numerous negotiations are underway with other airlines in the Middle East region, and the company is continuing to prepare for a ramp-up in output by developing its industrial resources.

AMES is located in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone, positioning it strategically to offer highly-effective, rapid-response aircraft maintenance solutions.