MRO Profile: Jets MRO Bringing New Paradigm

While still less than two years old, Jets MRO, a maintenance provider at Dallas Executive Airport (KRBD), aims to make waves in the industry, with a new technician-first approach. It was founded by Suresh Narayanan, a former executive with JSX who believes that his operator experience brings a different perspective to the general aviation MRO sector.

“I look at the business jet maintenance infrastructure and I am shocked at how immature it is,” Narayanan told AIN. “There’s a couple of big players in the private MRO space, [then] there’s a big gap, there’s a lot of small MROs.”

He observed during his tenure with JSX that, oftentimes, aircraft were delivered later than promised from maintenance. “I realized the biggest issue was mechanic turnover, and the average experience was going down even though they were replacing headcount; these MROs are losing experience,” he noted.

Describing himself as “data-driven,” Narayanan surveyed thousands of aircraft mechanics before he opened his facility to determine why they leave employers. While it was generally believed that the most important concern for them was salary, he found instead that business culture, engaged leadership, benefits, and schedule topped the list.

“If I can fix this starting with [putting] mechanics first, we can win because a happy mechanic produces a better aircraft on time; that’s the whole concept, that’s the value proposition.”

To do that, Narayanan instituted several employee-friendly policies, including free benefits, no mandatory overtime, and—with the business operational seven days a week—a four-day work schedule, with overlap between the two shifts on Thursdays.

Once a month, in the interest of transparency, he shares the company’s financials and answers any employee questions.

In terms of staff, Jets MRO currently has nearly 40 technicians at KRBD and is actively seeking experienced talent. “Last year was hard because nobody had ever heard of us,” explained Narayanan. “This year, it’s getting easier every month, I think because we are focusing on the right things. Our current team is the best recruiters.”

His near-term goal is to reach 50 mechanics, with a plan to add two experienced technicians a month. “If I could grow faster, I would,” stated Narayanan. “We have a new hire starting every other week for the most part.” Eventually, he wants his facility to be operational 24 hours a day with a staff of 100. “Dallas is the number-one concentration of A&P mechanics, so the talent is here,” he said.

The company occupies a 40,000-sq-ft hangar in the new Jet Access FBO facility on the west side of the field. The hangar was built from the ground up as a maintenance facility, and Narayanan and his staff had input in its design as it took shape. Before the new hangar’s completion, the maintenance provider occupied an old hangar on the opposite side of KRBD, which is now being renovated to serve as an airframe and powerplant school.

The company is the only maintenance provider on the field, which Narayanan describes as a “diamond of an airport” due to its easy access to downtown Dallas and its vast space available for expansion, unlike other airports in the vicinity.

Jets MRO holds an FAA Part 145 repair station authorization and specializes in small to midsize jets. “We can do heavy D-plus inspections on (Bombardier) Challengers, (Cessna) Citations, Hawkers, Lears, and Beechjets,” Narayanan said, adding that Part 135 operators and their scheduled aircraft maintenance make up the bulk of his customer base. “All the heavy checks on them, gear changes, engine changes, nothing is off the table.”

With a mobile repair team based at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (KDFW), the company will also do AOG response within a 100-mile radius. “As long as it doesn’t take away from our scheduled maintenance, we’ll help where we can, especially with our current customer base.”

While it has been in its new home for less than a year, Jets MRO has already had 12 light to midsize jets in its hangar at the same time, and the company is booked out for three months. “Last year, because we were new, it was month-to-month, and year two, people are learning about us and we’re getting recurring business, so it’s booking out longer,” Narayanan stated. “I just want to keep my guys busy, and if we can make a little money, give them consistency, and hit the things that we want to, that’s what we consider a success.”