FLYBE ENGINEERS STORM TO SUCCESS AT GLOBAL ‘MRO OLYMPICS’
<Leading regional airline Exeter based engineers place second at prestigious International Aerospace Maintenance Competition in US>
A five-strong team of engineers employed by Flybe Aviation Services at Europe’s largest regional airline, has returned home to Exeter from the US triumphant as number two in the aviation maintenance world having placed second in the International Team category at the annual 2017 Aerospace Maintenance Competition in Florida. The prestigious event is regarded as the ‘MRO Olympics’ (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) and this year attracted 53 teams from across the world including those from such global giants as Boeing, United Airlines, Qantas, Virgin Galactic, and the US Army and Airforce.
Flybe’s team, Joel Denton, Ashley Goodliffe, Andy Messom, Luke Thomas (Team Leader) and Simon Tooze, was a last-minute entry competing for the first time and was the only European team at this year’s event which required them to undertake tasks in 26 maintenance categories. This incorporated both practical and theoretical tasks all set to test skill and highlight technical prowess in aviation maintenance. They were also placed second in the MRO/OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers) category, just losing out to Boeing, and Simon and Andrew were crowned the fastest in the Fuel Tank Entry category.
Christine Ourmieres-Widener, Flybe CEO said: “Every one of us at Flybe is so exceptionally proud of this successful team of colleagues for their outstanding performance in the 2017 Aerospace Maintenance Competition. This was the first time we had ever sent a team to compete and to come away with two second place trophies is a fantastic achievement, particularly with two members who have come through our own apprenticeship programme. The judges remarked at how well they worked as a team. They are a credit to Flybe and typify the commitment to teamwork and passion for excellence we work to achieve overall as a company.”
Andrew Messom, team member and Aircraft Engineer Supervisor at Flybe, said the competition was ‘an amazing experience’. “The atmosphere was buzzing with excitement and nerves. To have come away with two trophies for second place was a bit of a shock for our first time at the competition and it took quite a while for our cheesy grins to go! I feel very proud to have shown our skills and knowledge base to the rest of the world on behalf of Flybe.”
The team represented a wide spectrum of engineering experience, with some having been with Flybe for over ten years and others with just six months or so under their belt. Joel and Ashley are both ‘home-grown’ having qualified as fully licensed engineers through the airline’s four-year Engineering Diploma at the Flybe Training Academy in Exeter.
About Flybe
Flybe, Europe's largest regional airline – 232 routes serving 15 countries from 87 departure points, 38 UK/49 European airports* (all routes on sale Mar’17 – Oct‘17); Operates more UK domestic flights than any other airline (UK CAA Apr’16 – Jan’17);
Rated best UK airline for punctuality and sixth in the world in the global airlines punctuality league table by OAG (Jan ’17); named ‘Best Short-Haul Airline’ at the 2016 Business Travel Awards (Jan ‘16);
The largest scheduled airline by air traffic movements at Belfast City, Birmingham, Cardiff, Exeter, Glasgow, Isle of Man, Newquay and Southampton airports (UK CAA Jan’17); Operates fleet of 84 aircraft – 59 Bombardier Q400, 9 Embraer 195, 11 E175 & 5 ATR 72s; Codeshares with BA, Air France, Etihad, Finnair, Aer Lingus, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Virgin Atlantic, Air India, Air Berlin and Singapore Airlines; 79% coverage of reporting airports (UK CAA Jan ’17);
Has its own globally recognised Training Academy in Exeter with flight deck and cabin crew simulator facilities, 26 classrooms and 150-seat conference facility.
*Flown under the Flybe brand
