What are the services provided by AMAC Aerospace?

AMAC is a one stop shop for Aerospace Maintenance, Completion/Refurbishment, A/C Charter, Management and Sales, Serial Production, rotor-wing cabins, Spare Part Sales, off site representation and Digitalization of Asset Records. As a Group of Companies, we are able to offer turnkey solutions for the most discerning of clients and we thrive on producing excellence in Business Aviation. AMAC Aerospace was conceived 15 years ago, when our Executive Management saw a gap in the market and today, we sit on top of them all as one of the market leaders dedicated to true craftsmanship and engineering professionalism.

Do you guide your clients through custom-made changes? What are the safety measures you would advise your clients to take? And how do you help your client’s approval?

Often, we have clients with a mixed approach when dealing with us. On one hand we might have a new client to aircraft ownership, who requires step by step introductions as to what to perceive in certain situations, which helps the individual make a concerted decision in what happens next of their aircraft. For clients who know what they want, the design can be made but we have a vigorous process to pursue in the transitions of design into engineering schematics. The transition is an assessment of what is feasibly possible from a production point of view versus an over-the-top wish/desire they perceive as being possible. For clients who have a hung balance from two designs, we can cater for a mock up. It is not something we automatically do, as a mock-up of a cabin is a rough assembly of shapes, monuments and materials put together to see as close as possible how a cabin will look like but there is a cost to this exercise and as much, time. It could be for example, a position of a gangway or divan, which has a knock-on effect but having a special awareness of how the cabin is presented can often lead to a realization of what is finally desired.

What are the different types of aviation that your company supports?

Our clients are typically private clients. We have clients who are head of state, HNWI’s (High Net worth Individuals), we have Government agencies, and we have organizations that have their own fleet of aircraft that is run as a charter operation. Our HQ in Basel, mainly deals with private clients. We also support the charter fleets who also require the same attention as single held assets by one client. In Bodrum, we have clients that come from a mixed business model, whereby we cater for the airlines in the region during the Winter months and flip the service offerings in Spring as we typically see many clients wishing to spend extended periods of time in the Turkish Rivera, whereby we as an MRO have the necessary lead and ground times to fulfil maintenance on these machines. So far, we have been very fortunate to have a good track record of having good business from Bodrum, of which we are planning more expansion to take place over the course of the next 2-3 years. AMAC Aerospace are the channel lead partner for a leading SDS (Self Defence System) system solution. We have seen a surge in the last 6-8 years in the form of requested SDS systems on private aircraft. Although the system itself is not military grade hardware, we are able and have been successful in installing around 30x systems to date and certified them under our own STC (Supplemental Type Certificate). Whether for Head of State or for clients who take security as a high personal matter, we cater for this type of workload.

Tell us about your company’s vision and mission; how does your company thrive by enabling advancement in an ever-evolving industry?

Our vision and mission are simple; we wish our clients to be happy with the time the aircraft spent with us, are satisfied on our promise to return on time and on budget and hope that these clients come back to our stations for further TLC. We often inform clients and aircraft owners, that when an aircraft goes to an MRO and/or completion centre, it takes time for the work teams to familiarize themselves with these machines, therefore it is important to see continuity with aircraft returning back to Switzerland, for us to take care of any snags, problems, discrepancies with the aircraft itself and/or the cabins. We thrive on being transparent with our clients and their representatives. It’s critically important to have a good nature about oneself and one’s work. If you are not confident in what you do, how are you going to be able to answer technically challenging questions? We ensure that our maintenance teams are aware of the full array of problems that the aircraft come with, we work diligently to ensure that all forms of trouble shooting are carried out and that the source problems are found and rectified in a timely manner. With regard to technology, we are continuously scouring the market place for new technology that is emerging at the forefront. We take great efforts in ensuring our awareness of certain technologies, we take great strides in asking the relevant questions in case of a realistic installation at some point in the future and we also take care to make sure that spare parts for new technology also continues into the future. All too often do we see technology being made redundant simply because a newer, smaller, better efficient piece of hardware comes to market.

Can you share us about your journey so far? How did you manage to bring your company to lime light?

Through hard work, hard graft and a very professional team (second to none in the world). We do not put any one person in any limelight, the success of the company is shared from the cleaner to myself, we all have our duties and responsibilities to look out for, we all have a part to play each in their domain.

My background is that I was an Avionic engineer, working for a large airline in the Middle East. From the Middle East, I went to the UK, worked in an MRO in the South East of England and it was during this time that I decided to set up my first Engineering Consultancy Company. We sold spare parts to an array of clients. From there, I discussed with my business partners, about an opening in the market place and we created AMAC Aerospace in 2008, so we celebrate this year our 15th year anniversary.

Every business on the globe changes day by day; what are the significant changes you expect in the sector and how is your company prepared for the changes?

We have seen in the last few years a surge in the last of the wide bodies from Boeing, the B747- 8i. There were 12x produced for private markets. Last year, we had half the fleet of these B747- 8i’s on the apron at our HQ facility, Basel, Switzerland. We never envisaged becoming a widebody specialist player, yet here we are. The demise of the certain wide body product in the market has been reported, no further production on the A380’s and/or B747’s. We notice that Airbus and Boeing are being squeezed for orders as their success on the neo and X Boeing Models have been great so far but the over compensation for further platforms cannot be met, as of today.

At AMAC Aerospace we were the first completion centre to return to service the first VIP A320neo. We are happy to report that our company is also the first completion centre in the world to return to service the first VVIP A350 neo (due May, 2024). Airbus is therefore buoyant and moving forward. In the Boeing world, the B787 order book is not yet open, it won’t be open before 2027. The new Boeing B777XB is not due for sales before 2028, so we imagine to see a few more narrow bodies to come through our hangars.

What would be your advice for budding entrepreneurs?

Learn your industry, learn your craft before you go out to sell. Learn from people as best as you can. Don’t be afraid to fail, be open and stand up to your responsibility. Strive to improve. I often tell my sons ‘It’s easy to get to reach your target but the harder work is maintaining that lead’. Aviation is not an industry whereby you can jump in the deep end and expect to swim. Aviation is one of the last industries, whereby job security means experience and continuity but is met like a minefield of ‘knowing how to navigate’, therefore be prepared to put in the long hours and expect to talk properly with many different people who come from many different cultures. I wish them the best of luck…

“We do not put any one person in any limelight, the success of the company is shared from the cleaner to myself”

“As a Group of Companies, we are able to offer turnkey solutions to our client in business aviation”