Luxury travel group Crystal AirCruises appointed Fly Comlux to manage operations of its VIP-equipped Boeing 777-200LR widebody due to enter service around the end of 2017. The aircraft, which is currently undergoing completion in the U.S., will be equipped to carry around 52 passengers for flights as part of luxury tours around the world.
Fly Comlux, which is the VIP airline division of Comlux the Aviation Group, will place the 777-200LR under its commercial air operators certificate (AOC) in Aruba. Already under the Aruba AOC is a 767-200ER that Fly Comlux has operated in the charter market since 2011, and this is due to be joined by an Airbus ACJ330. The company has a European Union AOC in Malta, which operates Bombardier Challengers and Globals, Embraer Legacys and Hawker 900XPs. A third Fly Comlux AOC is based in Kazakhstan.
Crystal AirCruises, which is the new division of the Genting Group’s Crystal Cruises, is also preparing to add a VIP Boeing 787 to its fleet. It operates a fleet of four luxury ocean liner cruise ships. “Crystal Air Cruises is a complement to the plethora of options Crystal is providing today’s global luxury travel,” said president and CEO Edie Rodriguez. “As we bring cruising to the skies, our guests can expect the highest quality of aviation service with Comlux.”
According to Comlux Group chairman and CEO Richard Gaona, U.S.-based Crystal turned to his company because of its extensive experience with private jet management and charter operations. “Our operational teams are already working together with their counterparts at Crystal AirCruises, in order to prepare for the first Crystal AirCruises flight in 2017,” he commented. “This is an exciting new program for Comlux and I am fully convinced we will provide an outstanding customized service to Crystal AirCruises and their high-end passengers.”
For Comlux, the contract with Crystal AirCruises represents an opportunity to expand its customer base beyond the core aircraft management and charter market, which remains quite challenging for service providers. But this has not discouraged Comlux from continuing to make significant investments in its infrastructure and capabilities, which also include maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), as well as completions.
“The market is still very difficult, but I feel that 2016 is to be a better year than 2015, and it is now very much a buyer’s market,” Gaona told AIN, citing political uncertainty ahead of November’s U.S. Presidential election and declining new aircraft sales as examples of factors that are undermining market confidence. “But, all in all, it’s still not going to be an easy year, and that’s why we have to be proactive and get out on the road to capture new business.”
In the first quarter of this year, he explained, demand for charter was “much quieter” than last year, but it did pick up somewhat during April. The VIP aircraft completions market also has been quiet, mainly because of the very limited delivery schedule for new Airbus Corporate Jets and Boeing Business Jets, partly because prospective customers seem to be waiting for these manufacturers to introduce their new, re-engined ACJneo and BBJ Max models, respectively. On the other hand, he argued, with existing aircraft owners delaying acquisitions of new models, they are keeping their current assets longer, and this is stimulating demand for maintenance and refurbishment work.
Comlux’s response to these circumstances has been to expand its Comlux America facility in Indianapolis. It now boasts three hangars, and is aggressively pursuing a wider array of MRO and completions work (see below).
Changing European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) regulations on aircraft operations are also creating new opportunities for Comlux to provide extra support and assurance for management clients. The new Part NCC rules effectively require aircraft operated purely for private use to be operated under standards that are close to those imposed on commercial operators. This can create an onerous burden on smaller operators and owners who may find it easier to turn to a larger operator for help. Similarly, the new Third Country Operators (TCO) authorization requirement for non-European commercial operators seeking to fly within the European Union also strengthens the case for these companies to seek support from a local AOC holder.
“Customers have to be more selective over which operators they work with because a much higher degree of [operational] control is required,” explained Gaona. “We made the choice to operate completely under commercial rules, and we have added qualifications such as ETOPS 180 minute clearance and FAR 129 compliance [governing foreign carriers flying into the U.S.] that helps us to win management contracts. You just can’t operate under fake AOCs anymore. I hope that the authorities will be more controlling so that we are competing on a truly level playing field.”
Another significant revenue stream for Zurich-headquartered Comlux (Booth N103) comes from its involvement in aircraft transactions, of which it has completed around 60 to date. For instance, it recently signed for a new Global 6000 on behalf of a client and now is in the process of selling its previous aircraft, also a Global.
Comlux America Expansion
On April 27, Comlux America opened its newly enlarged completion hangar in Indianapolis. The ambitious project expanded the company’s third hangar size from 128,000 square feet (11,891 square meters) to 157,000 sq ft (14,586 sq m), allowing the building to simultaneously accommodate one widebody aircraft and up to four single-aisle models. Both the ceiling and ground footprint were increased to allow larger airframes to move in and out, and the facility can now take any widebody, apart from an A380. The company’s two other hangars, between them, can accommodate a pair of BBJs and several smaller business jets.
Work currently moving through the Indianapolis site includes the completion of an ACJ330, a BBJ and the first of the new Sukhoi Business Jets (SBJ). At the same time, Comlux America is performing maintenance on another couple of BBJs and a pair of ACJs. The SBJ completion program for Russia’s Sukhoi required Comlux America to obtain full EASA Part 145 approval since the aircraft cannot be worked on under U.S. FAA supplemental type certificates.
“We increased the size of our facility in response to changes in the market,” said Comlux America CEO Scott Meyer. “We had been capturing a significant share of the narrowbody market, but this went through a drastic downturn, with Airbus and Boeing delivering less than three each year, and at the same time we saw increased and sustained growth on the widebody side.” At the same time, the maintenance and modification side of its operation has been boosted by operators responding to obsolescence in their aircraft systems and the need to install new technology.
Last year, the Indianapolis site earned Boeing warranty approval (up to C check level), adding to its existing service center status with both Airbus (C-check) and Bombardier (up to 8-year checks on the Global family). “We’ve signed two new BBJ [maintenance] clients this year, and it’s a hard-fought [market] that is very competitive, especially for domestically-operated aircraft,” Meyer told AIN. It is working on a 12-year-old BBJ that needs complete new emergency lighting and power sources, as well as an extensive modernization of the cabin.
“Our’s is the only VIP completions center designed and built specifically for that role. We didn’t leverage existing hangars,” Meyer said. “We have organized all the various shops so that they feed with one another from a fabrication point of view. With completion projects, 80 percent of the work is fabrication, and that’s where you need efficiency.”
By the time it completes its ramp up, Comlux America will have almost doubled its staffing levels. The company needs to recruit and retain highly skilled staff, and in this regard it benefits from the being close to prestigious universities such a Purdue, Notre Dame, Northwestern and Penn State. It also invested in providing a medical center on site for employees and their families—a major benefit in the U.S. job market.
Over the next three months, Comlux America will add another 60 staff. “We have changed our policy a bit to keep almost all core competences in-house, while outsourcing some things,” concluded Gaona. “The challenge now is to keep feeding the hangar [work].”
Comlux Strengthens Board With New Appointments
Comlux the Aviation Group announced the appointment of Domingo Ureña Raso to its board of directors. He comes to the business aviation services group from Airbus Military, where he was CEO, after a 30-year career with the Airbus Group.
In March, Comlux also appointed Frederic Dubant as its new executive vice president commercial. Dubant has been part of the Comlux management team for the past seven years, having previously served as vice president legal and contracts.
