Dornier expands hangar in Clark

MANILA, Philippines — Clark-based aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider Dornier Technology will put up this year a third hangar on its site that can park as many as six planes simultaneously.

Dornier yesterday said it is building another hangar on its base at the Clark International Airport, targeted for completion by the third quarter.

The company recently opened its second hangar, spanning 4,401 square meters, capable of handling up to four turboprops simultaneously.

Dornier is building the third hangar on a 4,705-sqm property. The facility is designed to provide MRO services to two single-aisle jets at the same time, boosting Dornier’s capacity to maintain the most popular aircraft type in the Philippines.

On top of this, Dornier can access another 2,250-sqm property in Clark where it can construct its fourth hangar. If realized, the hangar can accommodate two turboprops simultaneously.

Dornier will increase its MRO capacity by nearly thrice just from the expansion to three hangars, and it could go up by 241 percent if the fourth hangar is pursued.

Dornier also added a new service in its expansion hangars, bringing in full painting capabilities for single-aisle jets and ATR-made turboprops.

Dornier CEO Nick Gitsis said lessors are struggling to find MRO bases where they can demand a maintenance check and full repaint together.

Moreover, Gitsis said MRO demand is still on an upward trend in spite of flight reductions from multiple carriers. He noted that airline fleets are expanding faster than MRO capacity, so existing players like Dornier can capitalize on this supply imbalance.

Regionally, airlines are scrambling for hangar slots to have their aircraft checked. Gitsis said low-cost carriers are driving the bulk of the demand, as they are responsible for much of the fleet  expansion in Asia-Pacific.

“We see our opportunities particularly among low-cost carriers in Southeast Asia, as well as from airlines in Northeast Asia, where labor shortages are most acute,” Gitsis said.

Initially, Dornier was operating a single hangar in Clark, a 4,705-sqm facility that is capable of handling either one single-aisle or two turboprop simultaneously.