Etihad Engineering, a part of the Etihad Aviation Group (EAG) that deals in engineering and maintenance solutions, said that it saw the COVID-19 downtime in services for airlines as an opportunity to help them. According to an AIN report, David Doherty, Etihad Engineering’s head of sales, MRO sales, said, instead of looking at the grounded aircraft as an issue, the company took it as an opportunity to upgrade the aircraft fleet of its clients.
“We took a fresh look at how we could support our customers, deliver value, and keep our revenue streams flowing. The key to this was being proactive and flexible,” Doherty told AIN. “Instead of viewing grounded aircraft as a problem, we helped our customers capitalize on this rare downtime by making upgrades to their fleet,” he said, noting that while some airlines delayed routine maintenance, others brought it forward.
Etihad Engineering quickly started working on expanding its long-term aircraft parking capacity considerably.
Etihad Engineering Took Care of Clients, But Also Employees
Etihad Engineering conducted regular PCR tests for its employees and also held an on-site vaccination program to ensure everyone was safe.
This allowed us to not only protect our people but honour our commitments and deliver aircraft to customers from all over the world,” Doherty told AIN. “Despite all the challenges, we managed to deliver more than 300 aircraft in 2020, thanks to good planning and crisis management, diligent cost control, and being adaptive to the changing needs of the market.”
