Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

Gama Aviation’s Jet East division is adding mobile engine repair teams across the U.S.,&nbsp;broadening its independent business aviation maintenance network. Gama Aviation acquired Jet East in early 2021.
Solon, Ohio-based Jet East now has MRO facilities in Dallas; West Palm Beach, Florida; Millville and Teterboro, New Jersey; White Plains, New York; Chicago; Statesville, North Carolina; Las Vegas; and Van Nuys, California. Outside of the new mobile repair teams (MRT) operation, it also has a component repair shop in Solon.
The most recent addition was the Statesville facility, which opened in April and already employs 70, with another 40 to be added in the next 12 months.
“The business predominately started in AOG services,” said Jet East president and CEO Stephen Maiden. Now the AOG mobile teams encompass 125 employees, and the new engine teams will expand that number. “The engine MRT is something the industry typically has not had,” Maiden explained. “It’s a significant advantage, customers can call one number for airframe, avionics, and engine support at a time of crisis in very remote areas.”
Jason Chambers was hired as engine mobile engine repair manager and is responsible for hiring engine technicians to expand the MRTs. Jet East will eventually be able to offer engine services for Honeywell, Pratt &amp; Whitney, Rolls-Royce, and GE engines. It currently holds Honeywell authorization for TFE731 turbofans and GTCP36-150/100 APUs.
To drive growth, Jet East is investing in hiring more technicians and making the company a place where people want to stay for their career. “They want to be somewhere where they’re valued,” Maiden said. “As long as we’re providing great service, the ability to recruit great people will propel us into the future.”
The Jet East leadership’s “family-oriented, people-centric” culture “breeds a lot of positivity,” he added. Add to that profit sharing and health benefits without any out-of-pocket expenses and industry-leading wages, and Jet East hasn’t been having trouble attracting new employees.&nbsp;
Investments in training help propel career advancement for Jet East employees. “We’re focused on personal development,” he said. “And that’s a huge advantage to coming to work for Jet East.” Year-to-date, Jet East has added 235 new team members in technical roles and every other department.
For customers, a well-trained and treated workforce helps improve quality, service, and communication, Maiden explained, “and that’s what people care about.” Some of the Jet East facilities are open 24/7, which helps improve on-time delivery, he added, especially where aircraft utilization is at a premium.
“Fleet operators are flying primarily during the day and not as much on the third shift,” Maiden said.&nbsp;“This has been a focus of ours. It goes back to the legacy of our company that has been aligned with many fleet operators.” But having service available at all hours, including MRTs, is “a huge advantage.”&nbsp;
Rounding out the skillset of the MRO operation are the parts people, who face huge challenges during the supply-chain shortages that erupted soon after the Covid pandemic began easing.
“We’ve got a strong materials and supply chain team,” Maiden said. “They’re very experienced at working with our partners and providers and they know where to find those difficult parts. We’re struggling through it, the same as others, and it has created a significant amount of delays that the industry is seeing.”
With the right people, a 24/7 supply chain operation providing coverage in each time zone, and leveraging relationships with manufacturers, Jet East has been able to keep disruptions to a minimum.
“We try to look at it from all aspects of the parts supply chain so we can provide service to our customers. We have an extensive network we have built that we can leverage,” Maiden noted.
As Jet East continues to expand, he said, “We want to be the largest independent MRO that’s known as a full-capability operation. That’s our focus.”

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