BizJet International, a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Lufthansa Technik (Booth No. 343), received its first Airbus A318 Elite for interior completion at its Tulsa, Oklahoma facility this month. The airplane is scheduled for delivery back to Airbus in autumn with both FAA and EASA supplemental type certificate approvals. The arrival marks the start of a planned gradual takeover of the standardized A318 Elite interior completion program from Lufthansa Technik’s site in Hamburg, Germany.

The decision to shift responsibility for standard-cabin A318 Elite interior finish work to Tulsa, according to Lufthansa Technik, was prompted by an increasing demand for narrow- and widebody executive/VIP jet interior completion work. To date, Lufthansa Technik has completed and delivered seven A318 Elites from its Hamburg site and another aircraft is in the process of being completed. Two more Elites will be finished at Hamburg by mid-2010, after which the project will be turned over to BizJet International in entirety. By that time, BizJet International expects to have opened a second interior completion line, and Hamburg will concentrate on narrow- and widebody interior work of highly personalized design. To bring the BizJet International facility up to speed, Lufthansa Technik has invested $3 million in facilities upgrades and acquisition of new tools and machinery. BizJet International is looking at confirmed contracts for the completion of a total of six A318 Elites.