Hamburg, Germany-based Lufthansa Technik (LHT; Booth H71) is at EBACE 2018 this week to highlight its continued commitment to the executive airliner side of its house.

Recent developments include winning its first completion contract for a VIP Boeing 787-8; release of cabin concepts and gaining a customer for a VIP variant of the Airbus A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT); Embraer’s choice of its nice HD in-flight entertainment/cabin management system (IFE/CMS) for the new Phenom 300E; an MOU of cooperation with China’s MRO giant Ameco on providing business aviation services; and its selection to provide the mobile repair teams for GE Aviation’s Passport engines on the Bombardier Global 7000, which is expected to enter service by year-end.

Though LHT has provided maintenance and modification services for more than 100 Dreamliners, the 787 VIP completion for an undisclosed customer, announced in November and commencing this year, represents its first such project for the all-composite aircraft.

"With the conclusion of this completion contract, we are closing the final gap in our expertise for the Boeing 787," said Wieland Timm, senior director sales, VIP and special-mission aircraft, calling its past experience on the airframe “a valuable basis for the equipage of this special VIP aircraft."

The cabin will include an office area, bedroom, and bathroom in the forward section, a mid-cabin dining and conference area, with delegation seating of different classes aft.

In the fall, LHT's VIP & Special Mission Aircraft division also unveiled four cabin concepts for the Airbus A330-200 MRTT, two of them—The State and Governor—designed for transporting heads of state, government members, and delegations. The State cabin is designed as a flying government office, incorporating all necessary equipment to enable governmental authorities or military staff to work productively on board. The Governor configuration, which already has an undisclosed customer, is designed to transport larger delegations of varying functions and statuses.

All four cabin variants, which also include Trooper and Rescue configurations, were developed in cooperation with military services and meet NATO Tempest requirements for signal emanation levels. Some 30 A330 MRTTs have been ordered or are already in service with various air forces.

For cabin management and entertainment, the MRTTs or other business aircraft can be equipped with LHT’s nice HD IFE/CMS, as Embraer Executive Jets announced at NBAA 2017 it is doing in the Phenom 300E. LHT co-developed with Embraer a unique graphical user interface for the system, which features ceiling-mounted fold-down monitors, that allows full cabin control and custom user selected backgrounds. It supports wireless streaming to tablets and smartphones including the interactive niceview Mobile moving map and nicemedia applications, while a custom audio system designed by LHT for cabin installations delivers high-fidelity performance.

Engine Support

The support agreement for GE Passport engines on the Global 7000 gives Lufthansa Technik Aero Alzey (LTAA) responsibility for staffing a 10-technician team and dispatch to locations outside the U.S. as needed. The LTAA team will also manage spare engines, tooling, fan blisks, and leased assets for the Passport engine. The team recently completed training at GE Aviation's customer technical education center in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is currently supporting the Global 7000 flight-test fleet in Wichita, Kansas.

LTAA, the first independent MRO provider for the CF34 engine and a member of GE Aviation's authorized service center network for CF34-series engines, currently supports customers of CF34-powered Bombardier Challenger 600-series twinjets outside of North and South America for GE. Brad Mottier, vice president and general manager of GE Aviation's Business & General Aviation and Integrated Systems organization, said LTAA’s “technical acumen, focus on turnaround time, and dedication to customers makes it a trusted and valued partner for the CF34-series and now on GE Passport."

Built on technologies proven and refined on multiple programs, when the Passport enters service this year the propulsion system will have completed 4,000 hours and 8,000 cycles, equivalent to 10 years of operation, according to GE.

LHT’s MOU with Ameco, signed last month at ABACE, pledges “in-depth cooperation” to support business jets at the annual ABACE gatherings going forward, and to jointly develop a business jet support network in China, as well as improve and extend the availability of technical support, the two companies said.