Hong Kong-based aircraft management company Metrojet (Booth H418) provided an update here at ABACE 2014 on three joint ventures it announced at last year’s expo that launched its current growth initiatives. “We built a very strong presence in Hong Kong, and now we’re ready to go from local to regional,” said Metrojet CEO Björn Näf.
Metrojet Hanxing Zhuhai, its partnership with Hanxing Zhuhai General Aviation Co. Ltd., was formally awarded a full business license in February 2014 and has received Part 145 approval for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) in Mainland China. Näf announced that Davis He, a licensed engineer with FAA and CAAC certifications, will take charge of the Metrojet Hanxing Zhuhai MRO facility in Zhuhai, which has 15,000 sq ft of hangar space. The facility will “be open for business very, very soon,” initially servicing G450/550 Gulfstreams, “and over time will expand to all the capabilities needed for China,” including MRO on major OEM business jets, engines and avionics, Näf said.
TajAir Metrojet Aviation Mumbai, Metrojet’s partnership with TajAir, now has a 13,000-sq-ft hangar in Mumbai and is committed to building an additional 107,000 sq. ft. hangar within the country “to support the growing business aviation fleet in the Indian market.” A new CEO will join the company on June 1.
In the Philippines, the Metrojet Engineering Clark maintenance facility has formally received Part 145 approval from the Philippines CAAP for MRO work as well.
As for its core aircraft management services in Hong Kong, where the company has 34 jets under management, four of them available for charter, Näf said Metrojet will continue its philosophy of “disciplined growth, being the best, not necessarily the biggest,” reflecting the core values of parent company the Kadoori Group, which also owns the Peninsula Hotels.
“I was walking around at the show looking at booths, and they’re all very technical, very much aircraft- and engine-related,” Näf said, standing beneath a chandelier in Metrojet’s luxuriously appointed booth. “We’re about relationships and hospitality.”
