Anticipating a return of travel and the recovery of aviation, the country’s leading provider of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services is pursuing its $40-million expansion which was delayed by the pandemic.
Lufthansa Technik Philippines (LTP) sees recovery to start next year as it rehires employees and resumes the construction of its Hangar A1.
In a virtual press briefing, Elmar Lutter, LTP president and chief executive officer, said the company will soon begin rehiring employees to go back to its original 3,400 workforce by first quarter of next year.
“We have at the moment 2,700 employees after rightsizing. I hope by next year, we will go back to our old strength of 3,400. We dismissed 700 employees, a mixture of retirement, voluntary separation and small portion was dismissed,” Lutter said.
LTP said its business operation was down 40 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels. It has retrenched employees and put on hold the construction of Hangar 1A last year due to the pandemic.
Last month, LTP resumed the construction of Hanger 1A in its Manila site as demand for MRO services is expected to come back next year.
“The new target completion is next year. We are pushing for the completion. We think the demand will come back sustainably. We think the indication that we have shows we will see a recovery coming strong, even in the first phase,” said Lutter.
He added the company invested $20 million for the construction of Hangar 1A and an additional $20 million for the tools and auxiliary facilities which are expected to be completed next year. The projects will be funded through loans during the pre-pandemic and internal cash flow.
According to Lutter, LTP also intends to increase the production capacity for smaller planes.
With a total area of 9,000 square meters, the addition of Hangar 1A in LTP’s facility will enable it to service more aircraft, including the Airbus A380 — the world’s largest passenger airliner.
Hangar 1A will be an exact replica of the existing Hangar 1, which currently services aircraft of various airlines, including flag carrier Philippine Airlines.
The construction of Hangar 1A will mark the 10th bay in the MRO giant’s Manila site, which provides base and line maintenance to various commercial aircraft including Airbus A320, A330, A350 and A380 as well as Boeing B777.
Established in 2000, LTP is a joint venture of Hamburg-based Lufthansa Technik AG and the Philippines’ biggest aviation support service provider, MacroAsia Corp.
LTP has strong presence in the country, including Clark, Cebu, Davao, Kalibo and Puerto Princesa.
