Lufthansa Technik receives CAAC approval to perform heavy maintenance on Airbus ACJ319

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has approved Lufthansa Technik as maintenance station for Airbus A319 aircraft. This new approval enables the company to perform line and heavy maintenance services as well as cabin refurbishments on Chinese B-registered Airbus A319 aircraft.

The approval has been obtained in line with the first A319ACJ base maintenance project already secured by Lufthansa Technik. A B-registered ACJ319 is currently undergoing a 6 year check at 
Lufthansa Technik’s VIP maintenance facility in Hamburg / Germany. The aircraft was originally outfitted with a VIP cabin by the Lufthansa Technik Group for a Chinese customer. After six years of smooth and reliable operations, the aircraft now returns to Lufthansa Technik for its first major heavy maintenance check. Besides maintenance, the aircraft will receive a comprehensive cabin 
refurbishment to give the aircraft a new and fresh appeal after six years of operations.

A maintenance check of this size requires the entire VIP removal and re-installation. It was important for the customer that such delicatework is performed by Lufthansa Technik’s specialists for VIP interiors in order to protect and maintain the sensitive surfaces of the VIP cabin interior.

“This approval is a milestone for us as the A319 is a popular aircraft type in Greater China. It helps us to further extend our MROservices for VIP customers from that region. I am sure that we will create significant additional business thanks to the approval, as removing and installing the VIP cabin is a very sensitive work which shall only be performed by VIP Interior specialists”, said Thomas Decher, Vice President VIP Maintenance & Modifications.

“If commercial aircraft MRO suppliers work on the VIP cabin which arenot familiar with handling the special equipment and materials, such as the fine leather seats, embroided light color carpets or sensitivewooden surfaces, parts of the cabin can easily get damaged and scratched. Furthermore, re-installing the cabin in the aircraft afterthe check is a very challenging task. The interior and electrical functions must fit and work perfectly in the aircraft without any visible gaps in order to protect the elegant appearance.”

So far, Lufthansa Technik has outfitted more than 30 VIP aircraft forcustomers in Greater China alone. In addition to the VIP completion business the company offers a comprehensive portfolio of maintenance,repair, overhaul, refurbishment and modification services for its VIPcustomers. Besides A319, Lufthansa Technik holds CAAC-approvals to perform heavy maintenance of various other Airbus and Boeing aircrafttypes, like B747, A340 and A318.

Thanks to its longstanding expertise in the area of aircraft modification, Lufthansa Technik can integrate all systems and components in aircraft. In addition to the physical installation, 
this includes all required aeronautical and regulatory work, conversion planning and materials supply, the manufacture of high-endcomponents, the supply of materials in regular flight operation, and the repair of defective components.