A year after earning its Part 145 certificate, Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Omni Aircraft Maintenance has taken full advantage of its status as an FAA-approved repair station, witnessing the annual number of its MRO jobs roughly triple over the span of a year. For 40 years, the company’s MRO division has maintained Omni Air Transport’s fleet of Learjets under individual mechanics’ A&P licenses. The division has expanded its scope of activity to include several aircraft models, ranging from King Airs to Gulfstreams. Now, as outside work accounts for roughly 25 percent of its business, the company plans to open a new 20,000-sq-ft hangar in Tulsa, effectively doubling its capacity from three heavy lines to six by the end of the year.
In a recent interview with AIN, Omni Aircraft Maintenance president and co-owner Caleb Benner said it took about two years to gain the Part 145 ticket, somewhat longer than he originally expected due to a shortage of inspectors at the FAA. “It went pretty smoothly, but there were some changes here locally within the FAA we were dealing with, as well as some internal changes with us as we grew the company,” explained Benner. “We started out with three inspectors but at the end of the job I think only one of the original three was still on this project.”
But once the organization gained its FAA approval, business from outside customers grew rapidly, increasing from 58 external jobs in 2022 to about 100 in just the first eight months of this year, reported Benner. The growth, however, proved limited by a shortage of hangar space.
One of the three lines in the new hangar will accommodate aircraft as large as a Gulfstream, he added, providing the needed capacity for the general trend toward the operation of larger jets.
“Our expertise is definitely in Learjets,” said Benner. “[But] I'm in the process of adding other ones to the certificate...such as King Air 350s, which we have a lot of experience on—a lot of expertise. For the Citation XL and Citation XLS+, we’ve got experience there, and then Learjet 60s as well will be on the certificate. We also do a lot of work on Gulfstreams and Falcons—primarily AOG work. We're not doing heavy inspections on Gulfstreams and Falcons right now. That is one of the lines that'll be added, though, for what we call heavy-body aircraft.”
Meanwhile, Omni has entered the parts business to address the widespread delivery delays plaguing the industry. Most recently, it bought a used Learjet 45 to scavenge parts for itself and for sale to competitors and back to manufacturers.
“We’ve sold a lot of parts to competitors and continue to sell them internally, which has really helped us time and time again,” said Benner. Whether it sells parts that need refurbishment or not depends on the part, he added, but often Omni simply needs to perform a visual inspection and tag them for placement on its own shelves.
“It has been very beneficial to the business and I would say to the industry as well,” Benner noted, adding that he plans to do more part-outs when the “right aircraft” become available. “I’m always keeping an eye out,” he said. “We need the right amount of time on the components and engines to make it a direct value to us. But we're continuing to look for other makes and models as needed.”
Apart from Tulsa, Omni maintains satellite locations in Atlanta and Lubbock, Texas, where it stages AOG trucks for remote support in areas within about a 400-mile radius. From Atlanta in particular, AOG personnel also fly up and down the East Coast, where a large portion of Omni’s client base operates.
Next, it plans to base another AOG truck in Las Vegas, which will place support resources within a reasonable distance from the West Coast as well as the immediate area around the city. Finally, a dedicated truck based in Tulsa serves local clients and other points in Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, and Texas.
Now employing about 20 mechanics, Benner said he expects an initial need to hire another 10 to staff one shift in the new hangar, followed by another 10 when it adds a second shift as demand dictates. Omni isn’t immune to the effects of the industry’s labor shortage, however.
“We've had a very good success rate in retaining our employees, and that's something we're proud of,” remarked Benner. “But it's a challenge to bring in new ones…We do have an apprenticeship program… but we're looking for experienced technicians, which is a challenge right now. But we have been successful with internal recruiting, and from time to time we'll use a third party to help us recruit.”