Sending a strong signal about its plans to expand widebody aircraft completions work, Comlux America last month opened a new hangar at its Indianapolis headquarters. Last week, it moved an Airbus A330 into the hangar, which is ready for the former airliner to be completely refurbished for VIP service.

“Our target is to work on new widebody platforms like [Boeing] 787s, 747-8s, 777s, and [Airbus] A340s, and we can work on one of these at a time,” said Comlux America CEO Scott Meyer. “We won’t be doing A380s.”

The A330 that is about to be refurbished was returned from a Middle Eastern airline that had been operating it under lease, and it recently completed a heavy maintenance event. The new–undisclosed–owner bought it from Airbus and wants the cabin configured for a mix of VIP and higher-density passenger use. It is due to be delivered by Comlux in December 2017.

Comlux is currently working on two green completions projects, one for an undisclosed business jet and the other a single-aisle airliner being prepared for VIP use that is due to be delivered in the third quarter of 2016. “Now [with the new hangar] we can work on one widebody and two or three narrowbodies, or six narrowbodies in total, all at the same time, and also have room for maintenance work,” explained Meyer.

“Overall, there has been a dip in demand for green aircraft completions and this is for a number of reasons, such as the state of the global economy and the fact that new technology is about to hit the market. Some clients are waiting for the new A320neo and 737 Max to arrive,” Meyer told AIN. “This is putting pressure on the OEMs to sell the current product line, and there are already around 10 to 15 ACJs out there for sale. The anti-corruption campaign in China also isn’t helping the situation.”

Nonetheless, Comlux believes its investments in Indianapolis have positioned it well for a future uptick in completions work. “We now have a fully integrated completions center and don’t have to do any work outside, apart from full exterior paint work,” said Meyer. “We can do everything, including blended winglets, upholstery, cabin systems, sheetmetal and wood.”

New Mx Approvals

Comlux’s Indianapolis team is also busy with maintenance work that runs right up to the heaviest checks and overhauls. Last month, Boeing appointed Comlux an authorized service center and repair facility for the BBJ family, allowing it to support warranty work. Here at the NBAA show, Airbus is announcing the appointment of Comlux as a new authorized service center. The company already has this status with Bombardier (covering all aircraft types apart from the Learjet 70 and 75).

“It’s been a mixed picture in terms of flight activity [and by extension demand for maintenance],” said Meyer. “For instance, the Boeing Business Jets went into service around 15 years ago so there are currently fewer 12-year checks to be done. It’s all very cyclical. Bombardier is now trying to pull more maintenance work in-house [as Boeing and Airbus did for the BBJ and the ACJ, respectively] so that’s become very competitive.”

Meanwhile, Comlux is now offering two supplemental type certificates covering the FANS upgrade for Bombardier Challengers. “This is an important mandate for transatlantic operations, and we have a leg-up with our own STCs,” said Meyer.

Comlux America is the U.S. subsidiary of Europe-based Comlux The Aviation Group (Booth N5506), which is also active in aircraft management and charter.