Air Asia Company Limited – an aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) service provider based in Taiwan – has received approvals from regulatory authorities to service ATRs.

An official from Air Asia Company Limited tells Smart Aviation Asia Pacific the company is now approved by the Civil Aeronautics Administration to do heavy maintenance for older variants of the ATR 42 such as the -500 as well as the ATR 72-212A series, which is an earlier variant of the ATR 72.

The official says the company already planned to move into the ATR market back in 2020, as it was keen to grow its business by expanding its maintenance capabilities.

“There are many airlines, particularly regional operators that use the ATR in Asian countries. So after assessing the markets, we see a good opportunity for this aircraft type,” the official says.

The pandemic helped push forth the expansion plans, the official says, in part due to the reduced workload, which allowed the company to focus on getting the approval to do heavy maintenance on ATR aircraft in Taiwan. 

“We trained our personnel both in theory lessons and practical experience in the country during this period, and after readying ourselves, we officially submitted our application last September. The approvals came on 11 April this year,” the official says.

The official clarifies that the ATR capabilities are still new and the company has yet to secure its launch customer, but it has identified several key markets.

“Within Taiwan, there are Mandarin Airlines and Uni Air. We are also looking at Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Indonesia for our overseas expansion. We are already doing maintenance [on other aircraft types] for some of the operators in these countries, so these can be our potential customers as well,” the official adds.

Some operators in Asia have recently added ATR aircraft, such as Japan’s Hokkaido Air System which replaced its Saab 340s with ATR 42-600s, Smart Aviation Asia Pacific previously reported. There are also new ATR operators emerging in Japan such as Toki Air which aims to launch this year using two leased ATR 72-600s. Japan’s Oriental Air Bridge also announced in December it plans to replace its De Havilland Aircraft Canada Dash 8-200s with ATR 42-600s this year.  

The official says the MRO company’s advantages lie in its high-quality service, reasonable pricing and the ability to fulfil the customers’ needs.

“We are an independent MRO organization, so we do not have any of our own aircraft to maintain. We are fully dedicated to servicing our customers, and will be able to cater to what they require,” the official says.

The official confirms that Air Asia Company Limited is approved to do heavy maintenance for various aircraft types such as: Airbus A318, A319, A320 and A321; ATR 42-400, -500 series, 72-212A series, Beechcraft 200, 300 series, 1900 series; Bell 206; Boeing 727, 737-100, -200 series, -300 series, -400 series, -500 series, -600 series, -700 series, -800 series, McDonnell MD-80 series, De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400s, Britten-Norman BN2A, BN2B; and Cessna Caravan. 

According to the company’s website, it has certifications from 14 countries, including the  US FAA, Indonesia’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.

Air Asia Company Limited (亞洲航空股份有限公司) is a provider of aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services headquartered in Taiwan. It is different from Malaysian multinational low-cost airline AirAsia.

Picture Source: Air Asia Company Limited

Related Stories:

Japan’s Oriental Air Bridge Replacing De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Dash 8-200s with ATR 42-600s (26 December 2021)

Japan’s Hokkaido Air System To Phase Out Last Saab 340 At Year-End (11 November 2021)

Japan’s Toki Air To Lease First Two ATRs From Nordic Aviation Capital (11 October 2021)