Aerostar shining in many different directions

November is a month that Aerostar has been looking forward to as it begins its training services with launch customer Air Arabia on its live mock-up of an A320.

“What we did was dismantle an A320, take the top fuselage and ship it to Ras Al Khaimah and have it refurbished by Spatial Composites to make it a live mock-up training aircraft where all the panels are the same,” said Ajay Chaudhary, general manager. 

“Training starts in November with Air Arabia, so we’re just waiting for delivery from Spatial Composites.”

Aerostar will provide the A320 training aircraft, along with classrooms and equipment.

“It’s not just an emergency evacuation trainer that we provide, it’s also a galley trainer for the crew. So any airline that wants service training can also come to us,” explained Chaudhary.

Air Arabia will be providing instructors for its training crew but Chaudhary said

Aerostar is looking at providing its own instructors one day as it plans to expand with a B737-NG.

He added: “Providing instructors is down to the civil aviation authority. However, as our training sector grows it is something we need to think about. We are already receiving interest from RAK Airways about future training as it, too, uses a fleet of A320s, as does Indigo from India which has 60 A320s. 

“The A320 is smaller and airlines don’t necessarily have this type of aircraft to train on. Qatar Airways and Etihad have also said they would like to come and see the trainer when it arrives. While many operators have their own wide-body trainers, I think we will also look at getting one.”

Aerostar’s training actually has a unique angle, in that it is also providing a full A320 lavatory mock-up fire trainer.

“Fire training is a big part of cabin crew requirement that is often overlooked in terms of other training facilities providing the equipment,” said Chaudhary. “So what we have done is provide a full lavatory trainer where a live flame comes out of the toilet and the training crew has to extinguish it with a fire extinguisher.”

But what really makes Aerostar stand out from other training companies is the fact that it never was one.

The company started up in 2005 as an asset management organisation buying, selling and leasing aircraft engines.

“Our tie up with Air India engine shop, which started in 2009, gave us the impetus to market the engine shop capabilities to customers in the Middle East and Africa,” said Chaudhary.

“We use Air India’s facility in Mumbai, where it has a fully-fledged EASA- and FAA-approved repair shop to repair overhaul and service certain types of engine as well as building its engines. In turn, we give Air India our business, and we get its brand. We will source business, not just for ourselves but also for Air India, in the entire Middle East, as that is our jurisdiction. For our own engines, I can bring them from around the world, no problem.”

Aerostar also has a successful tie-up with TG engine shop for engine repair and overhaul and aircraft lease, and the UAE for engine repair and overhaul, as well as an agreement with KLM/Air France to repair engines in Paris, and with Evergreen Aircraft Technologies in Taiwan.

“In 2006 and 2007 we were working on a lot of the classic engines – 40 or 50 in a year.  These days there is an advance in technology with the new generation aircraft so the engines can be more trouble free and the volume comes down, although in terms of business, the cash goes up,” explained Chaudhary.

Engine customers include TAM Brazil, USA airlines, Aero Union in Mexico, and Middle East Airlines.

The company had originally applied to Dubai Airport Free Zone as a location, but it was told there was no space there.

“As it happens, that worked well for us as Sharjah Airport Free Zone is much more flexible and understanding,” said Chaudhary. “We also don’t have any competitors here when it come to engine parts, plus we’re logistically very well placed and have plenty of room for our two warehouses.”

Today, 70% of the business is still dedicated to the MRO side, and 20% is now focused on training. So what of the other 10%?

“Yes, we are quite busy here,” laughed Chaudhary. “The other 10% is with aircraft acquisitions. We have bought a lot of planes that we have dismantled to get access to a huge inventory of parts to support smaller airlines.

“Older generation aircraft are no longer in production, so parts are harder to get. We recognised this in 2005, so we started purchasing retired aircraft that airlines no longer needed or wanted, or buying from companies which owned them and no longer had use for them due to finances.”

The company has acquired 14 aircraft to date.

“The last one we dismantled was an Air France A320 in November 2011, which gave us access to a whole load of inventory. With that, we were able to support a lot of airlines, including the OEM manufacturer Thales.”

So, it looks highly likely that Aerostar’s next purchase will be of a B737-NG for its new venture in training.