First Class Air has invested in and partnered with Vertical Aerospace, an aviation MRO provider specialising in complex aircraft structural repair, engineering and fabricated parts manufacturing.
The deal expands First Class Air’s technical capabilities and capacity, adding structural repair and manufacturing resources to its existing aviation aftermarket offering.
Vertical Aerospace will continue to operate from its 226,000 sq ft facility in Bristow, Oklahoma, under the leadership of founder and general manager Tray Siegfried.
The company supports commercial, cargo and military aircraft, with capabilities covering nacelles and thrust reversers, flight control surfaces, composite and metallic structural repairs, cowlings, ducts and exhaust components.
It also provides engineering and repair development, fabrication, non-destructive testing (NDT) and specialised processing. Its quality system is AS9100 Rev D certified, while the company holds FAA and EASA repair station certifications.
Vertical Aerospace’s Bristow operation includes an autoclave and clean room, phosphoric acid anodising and cleaning capabilities, NDT, heat treatment, welding, laser tracking and engineering and design systems.
Isac Roths, chief executive of First Class Air, said: “Vertical Aerospace is a great addition to First Class Air providing another highly experienced team and differentiated capabilities which complement the services we provide across our organisation.
“Our focus has always been on finding better ways to solve problems for our customers and keep their aircraft operating.”
Roths said combining Vertical Aerospace’s structural repair, engineering and manufacturing expertise with First Class Air’s distribution, MRO, designated engineering representative (DER), parts manufacturer approval (PMA), teardown and exchange capabilities would allow the group to provide more integrated aftermarket solutions.
Siegfried said joining First Class Air would give Vertical Aerospace access to a broader network of capabilities and resources while allowing it to continue serving customers with its existing team.
The combination is intended to help customers address component availability, reduce maintenance costs, extend component life and minimise aircraft downtime.
First Class Air now comprises six specialised aviation companies serving cargo, commercial, regional, military and business aviation customers worldwide.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
