Change Agent

Imadedeen Al-Farahid received his BSc in electronic engineering in 1980 and has garnered many certificates since then by taking courses in electrical systems to ramp safety. Al-Farahid continues his education even though he has more than 25 years of experience. Employed by Royal Jordanian Airlines since 1981, Al-Farahid has a dozen years of hangar and line maintenance experience and is currently head of the engineering and maintenance department for Royal Jordanian Airline. He was very busy, but graciously agreed to briefly discuss the airliners specifics.

AM: Where is your main MRO facility and do you employ foreign nationals?

IAF: Our main MRO facility is located at Queen Alia International Airport [Amman, Jordan] and for the time being we don’t employ foreign nationals in the maintenance department.

AM: What are your training practices and what type of certification do you require maintenance employees to hold?

IAF: Our maintenance employees should hold Jordan Civil Aviation Authority License (JCAA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) license in addition to license on Royal Jordanian (RJ) fleet and Level 3 training.

AM: What type of composite training will you hold for the incoming Dreamliner?

IAF: This is to be determined in the near future.

AM: Which Dreamliner engine will you use?

IAF: At this time we are uncertain so this is to be determined in the near future too. (See sidebar)

AM: Do you have a spares agreement contract with Airbus? If so, what type?

IAF: We have spare pool agreement with Air France.

AM: How is Airbus’s product support?

IAF: Very good.

AM: How does Airbus maintenance differ from the Embraer maintenance?

IAF: Different theory (Mostly Embraer technique is modular type while Airbus technique is the line replacement unit type)

AM: How is Embraer’s product support and what is its spare part situation?

IAF: We have pool agreement with Embraer.

AM: Royal Jordanian installed horse stalls onboard its freighters this summer. Did Royal Jordanian design the stalls? What type of maintenance is required? Does the animal’s waste cause corrosion? How do you remedy that?

IAF: The stalls were designed from a Dutch specialist company, van Riemsdijk in Rotterdam, following Royal Jordanian specifications. No specific maintenance is required as high-tech aviation alloys are used, which are practically corrosion-free. The pallets require intensive cleaning after use to remove animal waste. With proper cleaning any chances of corrosion are virtually removed. From an engineering point of view we consider all manufacturer recommendation in this regard.

AM: August 2007 was Royal Jordanian’s highest transport month on record with more than a quarter million passenger. Did this record require additional maintenance?

IAF: We are following manufacturer recommendation in this regard, but we adopt additional cabin maintenance.

AM: What type of maintenance software do you employ?

IAF: We are in process of considering the Mxi software in the near future.

The late King Hussein established Jordan’s first national carrier in 1963 — Royal Jordanian Airlines. The airline now runs 24 aircraft, including CF6-powered A310, CFM56-powered A320 and CF34-10E-powered EMB195. This past fall, Royal Jordanian selected the GEnx engine to power its Boeing 787 aircraft, making it the first airline in the Middle East to operate GEnx-powered Boeing 787s when delivery begins in 2010. Royal Jordanian Airlines is currently in its final stages of the privatization and IPO process and is expected to conclude these processes this month. According to Jordan’s government’s plan, the sole owner, the government, will sell up to 74 percent of the shares of which 51 percent must be in the hands of Jordanians. Royal Jordanian received the 2007 Air Transport World’s Phoenix Award.