CEBU Pacific's newly renovated private hangar at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) was inaugurated on Tuesday.
It will provide services and maintenance to its fleet and other airlines.
Aviation Partnership Philippines (Aplus), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cebu Pacific (CEB), will handle the maintenance, light aircraft and overhaul (MRO) business in the aviation industry.
The Aplus provides services such as line maintenance, light aircraft checks, technical ramp handling to Cebu Pacific and other carriers with hubs in Manila, Cebu, Davao and Clark, apart from secondary airports in the Philippines.
The renovation of the 3,112-square meter Aplus hangar which started last year after the CEB acquired it, was completed in November 2021.
It can cater to the A320 and ATR aircraft, and designed for the A321neo as well.
Aplus General Manager Rico Ugdoracion said that they can also accommodate bigger aircraft such as Airbus A330, A350 and Boeing B787, but the repair and checks will be done outside the hangar since it was only designed for smaller Airbus and Boeing aircraft.
The cost of the renovation, according to Michael Ivan Shau, chief of Cebu Pacific Corporate Affairs, is over P200 million.
It also included the renovation of the old wooden-structure building to concrete.
Ugdoracion said the hangar will be used to perform C-Checks. A C-Check, which is performed approximately every 20-24 months, or a specified number of actual flight hours (FH), requires a large majority of the aircraft's components to be inspected.
The aircraft will be out of service for one to two weeks for maintenance check until it is completed, according to Aplus.
"This is a milestone not only for Cebu Pacific but more so for our subsidiary, Aplus. This inauguration is very timely and in line with the airline's preparations for the expected recovery of the aviation industry," Shau said, adding, that this strategic move gives Cebu Pacific optimization of cost when it comes to logistics and ferry cost, compared to sending their aircraft to Clark or any regional MRO, as well as other checks requiring a hangar.
"The Aplus hangar will allow for a reduced turnaround time for our existing and future airline customers. Working under a roof will surely boost personnel productivity and further enhance the quality of our services," Ugdoracion stressed.
He added that aside from Aplus' continuous drive to get moreforeign airline customers for its transit business, it also intends to work on getting other local airlines as clients.
"Having a hangar will give our foreign airline customers confidence that in case their aircraft gets grounded in Manila, a hangar can be provided by Aplus to perform the needed maintenance activities for aircraft recovery," Ugdoracion added.
Tags: #cebupacific, #newlyrenovatedhangar, #ninoyaquinointernationalairport