MEBAA: Maintaining talent… the Jet Aviation way

It’s something that Hardy Bütschi, VP regional operations Middle East & GM Dubai, Jet Aviation, is well aware of.

He said: “The manufacturing cycles have shrunk, resulting in more aircraft types, and more type ratings. At the same time, customers want to bring their entire fleet to one provider for a more efficient experience and a relationship based on trust.

“It can be a challenge to find a maintenance partner who can provide full support to all of their requirements. Our priority is to manage these challenges, while delivering a high-quality seamless service to all our customers, no matter their requirements.

There has been much talk of the shortage of trained talent affecting service providers across the globe, but Jet Aviation addresses that problem at its root.

Bütschi said: “Finding the right people, with the right mindset is a challenge. However, Jet Aviation is a talent incubator with the ability to identify good people, hire them, nurture them with opportunities for further training and development locally and as part of our extended global network.

“We are committed to supporting local talent and helping young people find their careers in aviation. We have interns and university graduates in positions across our Middle East business and are committed to investing in training and development where we see potential.”

There have also been shortages in the global supply – especially for special and specific materials – post Covid. Bütschi said: “We are not currently seeing the same challenges for off-the-shelf materials in the region. In the same way we spend time building and nurturing relationships with our customers, we also ensure a good relationship with our OEM and supply chain partners.

“When experiencing unanticipated challenges, we remain transparent with the customer to ensure an open and honest relationship throughout the project.”However, the pandemic also brought opportunities.

Bütschi explained: “Many customers who had previously travelled out of the region for maintenance brought their aircraft instead to our Middle East facilities. Over the past year we have seen more requests for larger cabin refurbishment, structural repair projects, avionic modifications, and upgrades at our fixed-wing maintenance site in Dubai, and have adapted and expanded our capabilities to match.”