Dubai Airshow: Lufthansa Technik investing for the long term

While the last year has seen operators consolidating their fleets, downsizing or refocusing on different aircraft types, this is good news for Richard Haas, senior director, corporate sales Middle East & Africa.

“Many things are happening, which is good for us, because then people ask ‘should we do things differently?” he explained.

“We welcome those discussions, because we are very well positioned to help the operators achieve their respective goals, particularly competitive costs in MRO, and we do this through our footprint here in Dubai.”

And that difference is in how Lufthansa Technik defines its footprint. Haas explained: “It is not only customer service and logistics, but it is the pure MRO activities themselves. This is the core of our Middle East activities, with the surrounding customer support, that brings people to our company and drives growth.”

The company has seen growth of around 6.5% to 7% year-on-year.

Lufthansa Technik Middle East CEO, Ziad Faisal Al Hazmi, said: “We are bringing technology and repair capabilities to the UAE for nacelles and radons; we are looking at nozzles; and we are developing other capabilities with our partners, looking at where we can add value.

“We started in 2017 with 50 staff. This year we increased the number of employees to around 100. We now have 24 nationalities in a young team.” 

As well as investing money and resources into bringing new capabilities into the region, Lufthansa Technik is investing in people through collaborations with universities.

Al Hazmi said: “We are working closely with the universities here, and it will take a few years, but we are investing in the future. We are here for the long term.”