Supporting projected growth in Middle East drives engineering & maintenance agenda

The Airline Engineering and Maintenance: Middle East Conference, which has moved from Abu Dhabi to Dubai for the 2018 edition, will focus on the MRO outlook for the region and crucially how the supply chain can effectively support the huge projected growth.
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The Middle East MRO market continues to expand, with Oliver Wyman recently forecasting growth at 5.7% CAGR over the next decade, which would generate $10.3bn in total MRO spend.

Kashif Khalid, Campaign Manager – Gulf Region, IATA who is a speaker at the upcoming conference in Dubai, comments: “Supporting the growth of the airlines in the Middle East requires a coordinated and efficient approach. The region remains a core focus market for aircraft manufacturers and operators. This event provides a forum to discuss, share and collaborate with airlines, OEMs and industry partners to showcase best practices as well as work towards fostering a culture of safety, innovation and efficiency.”

With both local and international operators speaking on the agenda, delegates can hear insights and opinion on how business is being encouraged, who has the airline backing and how international market trends and MRO activity will impact regional maintenance strategies.

New low-cost carrier Flyadeal, owned by Saudia, will feature on the first session of the day, the Global Leaders Panel. Nathan Smith, Senior Engineering Manager will join speakers from Etihad Airways Engineering, Pakistan International Airlines Engineering & Maintenance and Royal Jet.

Other topics to be addressed by the expert speaker line up include; Supporting Projected Growth, Maintenance Costs and Workforce, Owning Versus Leasing and New Technology.

M.P. Sajumon, Assistant Manager Line Maintenance, Jet Airways who will feature in the ‘New Technology’ session comments; “Technology is evolving day by day. I will be speaking about the potential of emerging technology in MRO as well as discussing what structural changes are required to keep pace with new technology from an airline perspective.”

The conference, which takes place at the Conrad Hotel on 22 January will close with a networking cocktail reception, sponsored by AJW Group.