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Jet Aviation held a groundbreaking ceremony on November 17 for its latest widebody bizliner completions hangar. Replacing two smaller hangars at the company’s Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg base in France, the new Hangar 3 will offer 94,399 sq ft/8,770 sq m of workspace, adding to the three widebody hangars that the company already operates at Basel.
Scheduled to be ready for operations in the third quarter of 2018, the hangar can accommodate aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 747. As well as adding widebody completion/refurbishment capacity, it also provides greater flexibility in being able to accommodate several narrowbody and business jet projects if it is not required for widebodies.
As well as hangarage, the project includes expanding the apron by 53,820 sq ft/5,000 sq m, while adding another 21,528 sq ft/2,000 sq m of office and workshop space. Also known as EuroAirport and serving cities in France, Germany and Switzerland, Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg has been the site of Jet Aviation’s main engineering facility since the company began operations in 1967, and now employs more than 1,600 of the company’s 4,000-plus staff.
The groundbreaking ceremony was held during the month of the company’s 50th anniversary.
In November, Jet Aviation held a ceremony to begin the construction of the company’s latest hangar at its Basel headquarters. Regional politicians, airport and aviation authority officials, suppliers and contractors joined company staff to celebrate the start of work on a new hangar that will offer an exceptional 93,650 sq ft (8,700 sq m) of work space, sufficient to accommodate aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 747. In addition to the hangar itself, the project includes 53,820 sq ft (5,000 sq m) of additional tarmac, enabling large aircraft to approach the hangar with ease, and 21,530 sq ft (2,000 sq m) for offices and workshops.
Jet Aviation’s facilities are located at the Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg airport—also known as EuroAirport—which serves cities in France, Germany and Switzerland. Established in the 1940s as a bi-national airport, with West Germany subsequently having an advisory function, the airfield is located on French territory with Basel in Switzerland being the closest population center. There is a small enclave that includes half of the passenger terminal that comes under Swiss legislature. This is where the new hangar will be situated, alongside two of the company’s three existing hangars capable of accepting widebody aircraft. Its remaining widebody hangar (Hangar 7) is located at the opposite side of the main runway, where the company also has larger engineering facilities.
Jet Aviation has been planning and negotiating the project for two years. The new hangar is replacing two older hangars, adding 48,975 sq ft (4,550 sq m) to the company’s overall hangarage at Basel in the process. Not only does this increase capacity, it also offers a more versatile space that allows the company to accommodate narrowbody and business jet work with greater flexibility. The new hangar is set to become operational at the end of 2018, and in the meantime, Jet Aviation has leased additional hangar and workshop space to ensure it can meet its commitments during the construction phase, and to minimize disruption to customers and staff.
Projects Stay on Schedule
Established at Basel in 1967 as Europe’s first business aviation maintenance specialist, Jet Aviation has expanded its facilities there over the years, and also grown to become a major global company serving the business aviation sector. Jet Aviation Basel provides on-site design and engineering facilities for a variety of completion, overhaul and upgrade work for a number of types up to the size of the Airbus A380. It has its own cabinetry, upholstery, sheet metal, composite, and paint shops. The facility is an approved service center for MRO work on Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, Dassault, Embraer and Gulfstream.
“Basel continues to be our most important location in the world,” company president Rob Smith told AIN. “More than 1,400 of our 4,000-plus employees are in Basel. This new project further strengthens our commitment to build Basel as a major aviation hub in Europe.”
Smith noted that there is “increased demand” for widebody work, but also pointed out that, by its niche nature, the business could be described as cyclical. Jet Aviation undertakes refurbishments, modifications and upgrades of older aircraft, as well as completions of factory-fresh “green” aircraft. The two sectors tend to rise and fall somewhat in cycles that are generally in opposition. “As demand for completions diminishes, demand for refurbishments and conversions grows, and vice versa,” reported Smith. “So overall, it generally evens itself out.”
Most of the company’s widebody work is conducted at Basel, but Jet Aviation’s MRO facilities in Dubai and Singapore can also undertake work on narrowbody bizliners such as the Airbus ACJ and Boeing BBJ.
For the airport management, the addition of the new hangar is an important step forward. The airport has a three-pillar business strategy based on air freight, commercial passenger services and business aviation. Including Jet Aviation’s contingent, the latter accounts for some 2,000 jobs at the airport, a number that is expected to increase once the new hangar opens.
Moreover, Jet Aviation has ongoing plans for growth at the airport, although they have not been finalized or announced. Basel offers significant real estate and air traffic capacity for further expansion, commodities that are lacking at many other business aviation engineering centers.