Surprisingly Mubadala Development Co (Mubadala) has agreed to sell ADAT (Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies) to Etihad Airways.
The transaction includes maintenance and engineering teams, hangars, component workshops, and paint facilities in Abu Dhabi, which will enhance Etihad Airways capability to undertake airframe and component maintenance on its growing fleet of modern aircraft, including the A380 and Boeing B787, which will join Etihad fleet in late 2014.
For those who don’t know the history of ADAT, it was the best aircraft maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in the Persian Gulf region back in the 1970’s. It was originally built with the support of Pan Am to maintain the regions’ older Boeing and Lockheed L-1011’s. Back then it was called GAMCO (Gulf Aircraft Maintenance Company), and each of the local Emirates (Bahrain, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Oman) owned an equal share.
Now the MRO that used to be managed by Gulf Air, will now be managed by Etihad. This would be good news for ADAT, as Etihad has more resources to grow ADAT while its own fleet can enjoy local maintenance and support at lower cost.
Unfortunately under this deal Mubadala will keep ADAT’s engine MRO business, and to establish a new company focused on growth of existing engine business.