UK-based Monarch Group has selected new heads of engineering and maintenance for its MRO division, promoting Lee Burgess and recruiting Andy Mackay to the respective roles.
Burgess previously served as general manager for maintenance planning and strategy at Monarch Aircraft Engineering's Birmingham base. In his new role, he replaces engineering director Keith Earnden, who has decided to leave the Luton-based provider.
Mackay joins on 14 September from KLM UK Engineering, where he has served as operations director and deputy accountable manager.
Office-based engineering services are central to Monarch's MRO growth strategy partly because they can bring customers outside Europe within reach. Burgess notes that the provider's engineering experience covers a varied range of aircraft the parent carrier has operated, including Airbus A320s, A330s, Boeing 737s, 757s and 767s. But he says business must expand at a "measured rate" to ensure that growth does not affect services to existing customers.
In his previous role, he was responsible for continued airworthiness management of the parent fleet. His new position additionally covers engineering services for external customers.
Monarch Airlines operates 25 A321s and eight A320s, Flightglobal's Ascend Fleets database shows. But the leisure carrier will replace that fleet with 30 737 Max 8s from 2018, in the course of restructuring to become a budget airline.
A roadmap for introduction of the 737 Max has just been determined, says Burgess. While the re-engined type will have much commonality with current-generation 737s – which Monarch Aircraft Engineering is supporting for third-party customers – Burgess says the MRO provider is still required to complete significant training for its engineers to support the new generation.
This will be particularly focused on changes in the aircraft's software and systems interface for maintenance personnel, he says.
Decommissioning the existing fleet will be a challenge as the aircraft need to undergo maintenance before they are returned to the lessors. The A320s and A321s were variously manufactured between 1998 and 2015, and hence some of them have been part of Monarch's fleet for many years, accumulating "a lot" of technical records, says Burgess.
Reviewing that documentation and servicing the aircraft as efficiently as possible will be a challenge, he adds. "You never really know what lessors want to see."
Source: Cirium Dashboard
