LHT to Complete A318s at Bizjet Tulsa

Lufthansa Technik is increasing its capacity for customized
completions of VIP and business aircraft by setting up a single-aisle completion line at its American subsidiary Bizjet in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The new facility will begin outfitting Airbus A318 Elites with individually customized cabins beginning in 2009. Later it will also provide extra capacity for other aircraft, the company announced at NBAA 2008. Lufthansa Technik says the demand for VIP and executive jet completions is so strong that the Completion Center in Hamburg cannot handle all orders on its own. The present need to expand production capacities in this area is due, in particular, to the market success of the Airbus A318 Elite program, in which Lufthansa Technik is Airbus' contracted completion partner. So far, Lufthansa Technik has delivered three A318 Elites, and it is currently working on four more aircraft of this type in Hamburg. In May 2009, completion will begin on the first A318 Elite in Tulsa, where three single-aisle completion lines will be ready for use by 2011