“So, we send a team to help with that removal, and then most work is being done in Greensboro,” said the Latitude Aero chief. In many cases, aircraft that are earmarked to be stripped of interiors are likely to be turned into freighters. That, and the growth of the VIP first class market were the two big surprises for 2021.”īoyette’s team frequently buys interiors from parked airplanes in Victorville, California or Marana in Arizona. “People are still buying Collins, Recaro and Zodiac ” seats for new and used aircraft, he said for example, but “they’re doing it in conjunction with some kind of refurbishment project as well. “They just need a little cleaning and polishing and doing a refurbishment to extend the life of the seat through the downturn.”Īs air traffic rebounds, the retrofit market is expected to see further improvement. Given that many aircraft were parked for two years amid the pandemic, these airlines might simply want to clean up what they’ve already got. Indeed, Boyette admitted to being “shocked” at the number of carriers considering getting placeholders for refurbishment projects. They’re still having to make interiors look nice… think that’s driving carriers to look at the refurbishment market and what they can do to extend the life of their seats for three to five years,” he said. If you look at load factors, load factors are up, but business travel is down, and that means they’re still having to do the maintenance checks. “A lot of the more prominent flag carriers and more prominent tier 1 airlines are going the refurbishment route. Boyette revealed to RGN that his company has secured “two of Skytrax’s top ten airlines” for the first time ever in its history. Latitude Aero is also collaborating with big commercial airlines. A FAA and EASA certified Part 145 aircraft seating overhaul provider, the firm specializes in modernizing aircraft with solutions for cabin upgrades including seats, IFE and in-seat power. This is the type of work in which Latitude Aero excels. We’re doing a lot more VIP-type refurbishments, where companies or smaller operators are taking narrowbodies out of storage and converting them.”įor instance, an operator might want to take a Boeing 737 from 48 seats to 60 seats, in an all-premium layout for corporate shuttles or sports charters. Aircraft seating overhaul provider Latitude Aero, which shifted its focus to cabin decontamination services during the coronavirus pandemic, is seeing a rebound in aircraft refurbishment projects, including rapid growth in the VIP market.ĭays after returning from the well-attended Aircraft Interiors Middle East show in Dubai, Latitude Aero president and CEO Kelvin Boyette told Runway Girl network from his firm’s Greensboro, North Carolina base that: “A big trend for us is the refurbishment market is coming back it’s coming back differently, though.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |