KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Who do you call when you need an aircraft painted in the far reaches of Kuala Lumpur? Well if you’re like Delta, you call the “A-Team” – Leading Edge’s team of “Away” specialists that circle the globe to strip and paint aircraft right on-site.
Delta hired the roaming band of paint experts recently to revamp one of its intercontinental aircraft in Malaysia’s bustling capital city. And they’re not the only ones to sign on the company’s crack team of color commandos. Prior to that, the Away Team successfully completed missions for airlines in Rome, NY, Miami, FL, and most recently, Lake Charles, LA.
In Rome it was the completion of the company’s first aircraft for JetBlue in just nine days. From there it was off to the Sunshine State where the A-Team transformed an aging 767, giving it a fresh new paint job for Omni Air International. Finally, it was off to Lake Charles, Louisiana where the crew worked tirelessly to paint 11 767s. “We’re extremely excited about the recent success and upsurge in demand for this team,” said Dave Patterson, EVP, LEAS. “They’re establishing an industry-wide reputation for quality, efficiency and reliability. And for maintenance jobs like these, those are critical factors to success.”
Patterson attributes the upsurge in demand in part because of changes to both the economy and the airline industry. Now, more than ever, maintenance facilities want to maximize revenue
opportunities without the burden of maintaining permanent, costly overhead. So outsourcing difficult tasks like aircraft painting (which has the potential for costly overruns) is just an easy way for them to eliminate risk and replace it with a guaranteed profit margin. It maximizes revenues, and allows companies to focus on where their core competencies lie.
“Aside from the built-in profit margins, the convenience factor is also a major hot button for mod centers today,” added Patterson. “Since the aircraft are sitting in the hangar for service anyway, why not play double duty and offer paint service from a globally recognized brand? It’s just a smarter way of doing business. It keeps aircraft in the skies making money, and generates new profit centers for the mod center. It’s the perfect partnership.”
