Just over two years after its launch, Switzerland-based Chair Airlines has announced plans to switch maintenance providers from SR Technics to independent Danish MRO Northern Aerotech (NAT).
Starting in November, NAT will handle full line maintenance services for Chair’s fleet at Zurich Airport. The airline, which was founded in 2019 as the successor to Germania Flug AG in Switzerland, currently operates from Zurich with two Airbus A319 aircraft and a Boeing 737 wet leased from sister company Enter Air. It previously operated three A319s, however, one was irreparably damaged during maintenance work in Naples last year. That aircraft will be replaced with an A320 in November and Chair Airlines says the damaged A319’s fate will be decided by the lessor.
SR Technics had been Chair Airlines’ maintenance partner since its launch, and it previously served as a maintenance partner to Germania Flug AG. Chair Airlines says SR Technics was not the maintenance partner that damaged the A319 in Naples, although it has not shared additional details about the incident. In addition to choosing NAT for line maintenance, the airline says it selects its contractors for base and heavy maintenance needs through tendering procedures.
“We have deliberately chosen a smaller maintenance partner who understands and can comprehend our individual needs and act quickly and flexibly,” says Glauco Minin, who handles fleet technical management as CAMO post holder at Chair Airlines. “NAT is a great fit for us and our fleet size, and we look forward to working with them in the future.”
Based in Copenhagen, NAT specializes in line maintenance and AOG support for airlines in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In March it opened a Zurich location, where it currently services five airlines. These include German charter airline Condor—its launch customer—as well as Polish charter airline Enter Air, Aegean Airlines and Air Malta, which it welcomed as customers this summer. It also just signed a contract with Ukraine International Airlines to cover its operations when they resume flights to Zurich.
According to Alessandro Agrimi, NAT’s chief commercial officer, the MRO is currently ramping up its operations in Zurich, where it hopes to add more customers and operate with a team of nine engineers.
“Both NAT and Chair see this agreement as a partnership, not only a contract. We are young and flexible, able to adapt to their needs,” says Agrimi. As an example, he points to NAT’s ability to start a new location immediately if a customer moves its operations through its deployable line station offering. NAT currently operates line stations in Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Scotland, Italy and the French Alsace region.
In addition to its line maintenance growth in Zurich, NAT plans to expand its operations in 2022 by adding widebody capabilities and taking over a hangar that will give it base maintenance capability.
