Mjets Ltd, the leading business aviation facility in Thailand, has won US certification to conduct maintenance on a broad spectrum of US-registered private jets.
The licence extended by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to Mjets last week means Thailand is one of a handful of places in Southeast Asia authorised to provide services under the new International Part 145.
With the FAA Repair Station Certificate, Mjets can raise the bar of its maintenance capabilities for business jets. It is allowed to provide full-service activities up to and including full base-level and heavy scheduled maintenance for both private and commercial business jets registered in the US.
Harold Stoddard, director for quality & safety at Mjets, told the Bangkok Post the certification followed from the firm's compliance with the FAA's rigorous standards through comprehensive inspections of the repair station's processes, personnel, training and facilities.
Mjets cooperated with Western Jet Aviation, billed as the world's largest independently owned maintenance facility specialising in Gulfstream-type aircraft, and spent millions of baht to meet the FAA requirements, he said.
Prior to certification, Mjets could only provide minor support for private jets registered in the US to an individual engineer holding an FAA licence. The company can now deal with most Gulfstream and Cessna business jet series as well as Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, Dassault, Embraer and Hawker Beechcraft models.
Owners and operators of US-registered business jets in China, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, India, the Isle of Man and the United Arab Emirates are considering sending their aircraft for service to Mjets, said Mr Stoddard.
"Customer service, competitive pricing, proximity to Bangkok's vibrant yet affordable downtown, and a central location within Asean combine to create a market advantage for Mjets to competitors in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore some 1,300 kilometres south," he said.