AviTrader_Monthly_MRO_e-Magazine_2017-06

Industry events
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Flybe from the UK came in second place.
Australia was well represented at this year’s competition, as Qantas and
the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association also sent teams.
“It’s good to have some fellow Aussies here to compete with,” Maher
said. All three teams joined MacTiernan in the center floor to kick
off day two of the competition with the traditional Australian cheer of
“Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oy Oy Oy!”
For the past two years, JetStar Engineering has selected new engineers
to represent the team at the AMC, so they don’t necessarily have a lot
of time to practice together. Bond is based in Auckland, New Zealand,
while the others are from Australia: Rached is based in Coolangatta,
Queensland; Raj and Sabaratham are based in Melbourne; and Paul
and Maher are based in Newcastle.
“It is quite a competitive selection process just to make it on the JetStar
team. You put your name forward and your managers make selections
from there on,” Maher said. “It’s not just us who are talented at
JetStar, all the guys across our JetStar Engineering network are fantastic
engineers. We also had some very skilled employees who helped
with the training process, to put us in the best position possible for the
competition. We have a great ‘One Team’ culture at JetStar, which was
reflected in our results. We had brilliant guys last year in our first year,
and the team was motivated to come back and do better. The guys
that come next year will be just as skilled and ready to go as we were.”
great networking event for teams to establish connections and form
friendships long after the competition has ended.
“The AMC gives us a chance to interact with other airlines that we normally
wouldn’t see. We have similar roles around the world. It’s good
to have a chat and see what their job entails, find the similarities and
share different ideas,” Rached said.
“This event is getting bigger and better every year, and Ken and John
Goglia (president of the Aerospace Maintenance Council), and Snapon
put on a fantastic show and we hope to be back next year. This
event is praised by everyone who comes,” Maher added.
Flybe Aviation Services
This was the first year Flybe Aviation Services entered a team in the
Aerospace Maintenance Competition. Flybe is Europe’s largest regional
airline, operating 59 Bombardier Q400, 20 Embraer 175 and
190, and five ATR 72 jet and turbo jet aircraft on 232 routes serving
15 countries.
Flybe encouraged its more than 400 technicians and engineers throughout
the United Kingdom to apply for one of the coveted spots, and in
While competition is the name of the game, the real takeaway is the
camaraderie among the teams. Maher said they took the student team
from Mohawk Valley Community College (Rome, New York) under
their wing and mentored them during the competition. Last year, they
did the same with the team from Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Institute of
Aeronautics.
“Just to collaborate with them and lift their spirt levels when they’re
down, and guide them through what they have to do, is a fantastic
thing,” Maher said. “They are a great bunch of guys and we wish them
the best in the future.”
“My advice to students who aren’t in aviation is to test yourself and
give it a try,” Raj said. “If you think you’ve got the skills, if you think you
like challenging stuff, then this is the place to be. It’s a great industry
to be in.”
The Aerospace Maintenance Competition Presented by Snap-on is a
Teams had 15 minutes to accurately
complete each task.
AviTrader MRO - June 2017