Prague, 1 November 2017

Czech Airlines Technics (CSAT), a daughter company of the Czech Aeroholding Group providing aircraft maintenance and repair services, launches a fifth base maintenance line for Boeing 737, A320 Family and ATR aircraft this autumn. Thanks to additional capacity increases in the aircraft base maintenance area, the workload capacity will grow by 25%. The planned launch of operations of the fifth base maintenance line is connected with the hiring process of about 80 employees.

„"Today, aircraft base maintenance already accounts for over 50% of CSAT's revenue. Based on current estimates, interest in this type of maintenance work will continue to grow in the future. Investment in the fifth base maintenance line follows the overall company strategy focused on capacity optimization and flexible reactions to market requirements. In the case of CSAT, the company strategy is built on the development of base maintenance and the offer of complex high-quality services,“ Václav Řehoř, Chairman of the Czech Aeroholding Board of Directors, the sole Czech Airlines Technics shareholder, said.

Sufficient investment, including in a hangar stand and material supplies for the existing technical facilities of Hangar F located on Václav Havel Airport Prague premises, was required to enable the launch of operations of the fifth base maintenance line.

„We have entered into several exclusive long-term agreements with guaranteed work volumes in the field of aircraft base maintenance. The existing capacity is fully booked for years, so the decision to increase the capacity is a logical step to ensure the company's ability to grow further. Existing customers keep gradually increasing the number of aircraft in their fleets so we have been growing with them,“ Pavel Haleš, Chairman of the Czech Airlines Technics Board of Directors, added.

The process of hiring about 80 new employees, which started at the beginning of the year and which will include the training and introduction of new employees to the process, is closely connected with the need to ensure adequate staffing of the fifth base maintenance line. Long-term, the exclusive co-operation with the Secondary School of Civil Aviation in Prague/Ruzyně will help recruit new employees. The goal of the co-operation and scholarship programme, in its second year of running, is to guarantee students jobs immediately after graduation in a renowned company with a long tradition of providing high-quality services in aircraft repair and maintenance.

Since 2014, this will be the second capacity increase in the area of aircraft base maintenance. Due to the full use of the existing capacity, the company launched operations of a fourth base maintenance production line in 2015.

Aircraft base maintenance includes regular service checks ordered by the manufacturer, more complex repairs, modifications of aircraft systems and constructions, replacements of engines and landing gear sets as well as modifications to cabin interiors.