[1]The Cochin International Aviation Services Limited (CIASL), a subsidiary of CIAL, will have a grand take-off on the global maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) of flights when the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) approves it as a foreign maintenance organisation soon. The approval is expected within two weeks, say sources.
The audit team from EASA recently conducted an audit of the CIASL line maintenance facilities and suggested corrections. A Qatar Airways trainer arrived at the MRO facility and trained the personnel at CIASL and the relevant papers have now been sent to EASA.
When the facility becomes full-fledged, European flights will also come to CIASL for maintenance since the rates are much cheaper here.
India currently has the potential to emerge as the global hub for MRO outsourcing in the Asia-Pacific region and CIASL has vast scope to tap this market. “The emergence of low-cost carriers has pushed up the competitive pressure on the major airlines that would prefer to have their aircraft serviced at reduced costs. International carriers that have been increasing their services to and from India can also have their aircraft serviced at CIASL, leveraging the opportunity thrown up by the cost advantage,” said CIAL MD V.J. Kurien.
He said that the commercial aviation MRO market in India is largely untapped and hence CIASL will have a chance to position itself as a competitive regional MRO hub, serving the broader Asia Pacific region through the advantages of faster turnaround time, a rich pool of engineering expertise and low labour costs.
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[1] http://archive.asianage.com/kochi3jpgcropdisplayjpg-886