Air New Zealand's recently formed standalone aircraft interior design company Altitude Aerospace Interiors (AAI) plans to open a dedicated Boeing Business Jet refurbishment centre in Christchurch in conjunction with the airline's Technical Operations division by the end of the year. The new facility will provide end-to-end refurbishment and completion services for BBJs.
The airline established Auckland and Christchurch-based AAI as a wholly owned subsidiary with 50 staff in late August, but it has been developing design expertise and a client base as part of Air New Zealand Technical Operations for more than 60 years.
The company has already completed two BBJ refurbishments and multiple smaller modifications, says Michael Pervan, AAI general manager. A further three BBJ refurbishments are under way and the company hopes to shortly win its first green completion of a new BBJ, capitalising on the fact that there are no other BBJ completion centres in the Asia-Pacific region, says Pervan. Customers to date have come from various regions, he adds.
Recent innovations developed by the company include a "sleek sofa that multi-tasks as an office, storage facility and bed" for a VIP client.
In addition to designing products and interiors for BBJs and private jets, the company's services comprise reconfiguring and integrating interiors on commercial jet aircraft and designing customised interiors for commercial aircraft.
The design and fit-out of business and private jet interiors is an exciting area of growth for the business and one which is expected to account for about half of the company's activities, says Pervan. On the business jet side, AAI is concentrating on BBJs and larger.
"Over the next five years we expect to double our staff numbers and significantly increase our revenue as we further grow our business to meet increasing demand," says Pervan.
Source: Flight International
