Lufthansa Technik Malta continues to impress

It does not seem that long ago that a group of journalists visited Lufthansa Technik's headquarters in Hamburg for the launch of Lufthansa Technik Malta.

The launch was greeted optimistically by both sides of the joint venture (Lufthansa 51 per cent and Air Malta 49 per cent) and the government had trumpeted the venture as a pilot for future similar investments.

The Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 "C-check factory" has in fact been in operation for 20 months, and has completed its 100th C-check three months ahead of schedule.

A C-check is a maintenance event that occurs every 15 to 18 months. And the 100th was being completed on an Airbus A320-200 owned by Spanair, as journalists gathered at Luqa on Tuesday. It had undergone maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services.

"With the 100th C-check being completed just 20 months after Lufthansa Technik Malta begun operation, the maintenance joint venture has proved a successful and truly important pillar of our international MRO strategy", Dr Thomas Stuger, Senior Vice President Aircraft Maintenance Lufthansa Technik in Malta, said at Luqa on Tuesday.

Dr Stuger was in Malta for the event and he met Louis Giordimaina, chief executive officer Lufthansa Technik Malta, Air Malta chairman Laurence Zammit and Investment, Industry and IT Minister Austin Gatt.

"As one of the youngest members within the Lufthansa Technik Group, we are proud to have delivered a high quality product with guaranteed turnaround times to our customers.

"In the next months we will be extending our portfolio, especially for Boeing operators to the 737NG series and also increasing our efforts to attract even more customers to Malta," Mr Giordimaina said.

During the last months Lufthansa Technik Malta also broadened its portfolio with additional services, such as cabin modifications.

Spanair, for example, has had the movable class dividers in ten of its A320s lengthened, which makes for greater flexibility in dividing the cabin between business and economy class.

This eliminates extra downtime when it is done in conjunction with the C-check. Furthermore and along with the aircraft maintenance in Frankfurt, Lufthansa Technik Malta carried out cockpit door modifications for a customer at Brussels international airport.

The main customer continues to be Lufthansa, which has already sent 63 jetliners to the island. For Lufthansa, too, the product portfolio has been expanded to carry out the Boeing 737 forward pressure bulkhead replacement in parallel with another Lufthansa Boeing 737 aircraft undergoing its C-check. Other customers include Travel Service (Czech Republic), Windjet (Italy), Air Bulgaria and Alitalia.

LT Malta operates with 116 local employees and two Lufthansa staff.