Alitalia's Technical Operations Division:
MRO, Italian-style

Asian Aerospace 2000 -- Four years into its push to increase third party work, Alitalia's Technical Operations Division has doubled revenues and is devoting more people, hangar slots and capabilities to this sector.

Key to the strategy is selling "full maintenance" packages to smaller airlines, especially freight carriers, according to Leonardo Mento, product manager, Middle East and Asia. Simply put, the program means: "You give the aircraft to us and we take care of it,", he said.

In addition to eliminating the need for a small airline to establish and staff expensive maintenance facilities, Alitalia's full maintenance packages are easier to manage and cheaper overall than negotiating multiple, separate maintenance agreements, Mento noted.

Based on years of experience maintaining its parent company's fleet, Alitalia Technical Operations also can offer "fast reaction" to aircraft-on-ground situations. This is an added value many other aircraft maintenance bases can't match, Mento said, adding, "We have the experience, airline network and, most importantly, the attitude to do AOG right." Designated AOG "go-team" workers come to the shop everyday with their passports ready. Fast AOG response also can save money for small operators, as they have to get back in service quickly when they have a plane full of cargo - and don't have the luxury of back-up aircraft.

Alitalia decided to focus more on third-party maintenance four years ago. The greater volume of outside work the base takes in also allows it to increase capabilities while achieving lower prices for its parent airline. About 35% of all workload now is third-party. A 50:50 ratio would be ideal, Mento said.

Alitalia's main maintenance base at Rome's Fiumicino Airport employs 3,800 and specializes in heavy maintenance on the DC-10, MD-11, B767 and A320. A fully-owned subsidiary, Atitech, is located in Naples and specializes in MD-80s.

By Paul Proctor