Aircraft maintenance firm sees increased demand for private jets

Aircraft maintenance company ExecuJet MRO Services is eyeing to serve more business jets coming from the Philippines this year as it seeks to return to prepandemic level of operations amid easing mobility restrictions.

Ivan Lim, Execujet regional vice president for Asia, told the Inquirer they wanted to provide service to six aircraft this year, from just around two to three units in 2021 as many flights were grounded due to a dip in demand.

ExecuJet, a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) firm based in Malaysia, has been certified by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) to conduct line and heavy maintenance for Dassault Aviation, Bombardier and Gulfstream business jets.

“We’re hoping 2022 is a better year now that everyone, every economy, every country is slowly coming out of the pandemic and moving into an endemic phase. International travel is picking up again so utilization of business jets naturally will follow the trend,” he said.

Lim said ExecuJet, so far, has two aircraft undergoing maintenance in its hub in Malaysia.

Apart from the reopening of the borders, Lim was also banking on the new and emerging business jet users.

He explained more travelers had become “receptive” to flying via private jets to avoid exposure to thousands of passengers in the airport.

“We see an increase in demand for business jet services. With that, hopefully, it will translate to more maintenance requirements which will benefit MRO sectors,” he added.

Temporary certification only

Currently, ExecuJet is operating on a temporary certification from the CAAP as the physical auditing of its facilities—a requisite to be granted a full two-year accreditation—was hampered due to the pandemic.

But Lim is confident that the company would hurdle the renewal process, which is bound to be completed this year.

“We’ve always held on to high standards when we do our job. We have our own compliance department as well, regardless [or] whether the authorities are coming in or not,” he said.

ExecuJet has been servicing the Philippine market since 2014.