Air France Industries inaugurated today its new engine test cell, at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport
2012-11-15 — /travelprnews.com/ — The outcome of a 43 million euro investment program, the new facility, called ZEPHYR, will serve to test some 300 engines each year, including over 100 Very Big Engines (VBE), delivering an optimized service to clients in terms of processes and costs alike.
The test cell will enable Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M) to cover the entire maintenance process for engines such as the GE90-94/115 equipping Boeing 777s, and the CFM56 power plants equipping Airbus aircraft in the A320 family, and the A340. The new test cell is also ready to test the GP7200 engines equipping the Airbus A380, and has been designed to adapt to the engines that will equip future generations of aircraft.
Environmental issues were a special focus during the construction of the 5,000sq.m. ZEPHYR facility, which meets all HQE high environmental quality construction standards in terms of thermal, sound and vibratory insulation, ergonomy, and environment, etc.
An ambitious investment policy in France
Over the past decade, Air France has invested close to 350 million euros in modernizing its maintenance facilities and building new infrastructure in France. With this investment, Air France is the world’s first airline to market GE90-94/115 full maintenance services to other airlines, thereby strengthening its position on the fast-growing engine overhaul market.
Certified by authorities in Europe (EASA: European Aviation Safety Agency), the United States (Federal Aviation Administration, FAA) and China (Civil Aviation Administration of China, CAAC), the ZEPHYR test cell will help AFI KLM E&M to position itself as the main alternative to the engine manufacturer.
“As part of the Transform 2015 plan, we intend to expand into high-growth activities such as component and engine. The implementation of a new engine test cell at Paris-CDG enables us to reaffirm our position as a major player in the multi-product aircraft maintenance business. Today, we can take extremely strong positions in the markets for new-generation aircraft and propose a competitive offering for engine and component products.” declared Alexandre de Juniac, Chairman and CEO Air France.
AFI KLM E&M in figures
- Global No.2 for multi-product aircraft maintenance, and the third business activity of the Air France-KLM group
- Turnover: 3.1 billion euros in 2011
- Operating income: 110 million euros in 2011
- Close to 1,300 aircraft supported
- Close to 350 million euros invested in France since 2002
- Over 14,000 employees, including 8,500 in France
- Work carried out for over 150 client airlines generates turnover of 1.04 billion euros, representing one-third of AFI KLM E&M’s business activity
- Seven maintenance facilities with high-performance maintenance and engineering infrastructure at Paris-CDG/Le Bourget, Paris-Orly/Villeneuve-Le-Roi, Paris-Elancourt, Toulouse, Amsterdam, Norwich, and Miami.
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