Hang about, it's how much for an aircraft hangar these days?
by: Neil Wilson
From: Herald Sun
March 23, 2012 12:00AM
QANTAS has blatantly exaggerated the cost of building a new maintenance hangar to clear the way for hundreds of job cuts in Victoria, an aviation building specialist says.
Industry expert Matthew Garry claims that to build a hangar capable of servicing the superjumbo A380 at Avalon Airport, it would cost a quarter of the $105 million flagged by Qantas.
Qantas workers have called for the airline to build the hangar and create an aviation maintenance hub to rival the world's best, but the airline says it would not be feasible.
Mr Garry, chief executive of hangar construction group Bettabuilt, questioned the merits of Qantas's plan to send its superjumbo maintenance work to the Philippines.
He has provided a detailed quote of just $17.7 million to build a hangar big enough to service every jet in the Qantas and Jetstar fleets, from the A380 down.
Mr Garry, who has worked with Emirates on plans for an immense A380 hangar in Dubai, said that airline estimated it would cost a further $9.6 million to fit out the complex with required machinery and equipment. At that rate, the total cost for an Avalon A380 hangar would be about $27 million - about 25 per cent of Qantas' estimate.
The Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association commissioned the quote.
It comes as it and other unions lobby governments, Qantas and Avalon owner Linfox to look at alternatives to existing maintenance strategies tabled by the airline. Qantas is planning to close either one or both of its heavy maintenance facilities at Tullamarine and Avalon, risking up to 1000 jobs, and consolidate much of its maintenance operations in Brisbane.
Qantas operations chief Lyell Strambi has said Qantas's A380 fleet, which will eventually number 15, is too small to justify a purpose-built facility as it would be under-used.
But Mr Garry said a new hangar at Avalon would be flexible enough for the "constant flow of heavy maintenance work" require by Qantas to make it efficient.
"The quote we've put together could be matched by other companies," he said. "Where Qantas got $100 million from I don't know, I think it's a softly way of preparing people for them to go overseas. It will be tragic for the country to lose such expertise."
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