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JUST LANDED: Airbus has unveiled a logistics facility in Dubai that will house spare parts for its aircraft.

Airbus already has spares centres in Beijing and Ashburn, Washington DC, as well as warehouses in Shanghai, Frankfurt and Singapore.

The plans for the Dubai warehouse were first announced last year, but it was only at the beginning of June that the opening ceremony was held at the site.

Underlining the value of the site to local business, Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, was in attendance.

"The facility has a footprint size of 2700m² and it also has a storage capability of 2700m²," outlines Helmerichs.

"This is because we have multiple levels of stacking. We have one area which is used for block storage of the larger parts and a cantilever area where we put the lighter sections. In another area we have the shuffle racking area, where we have the three layer shuffle racking system, which is completely manual."

In addition, Airbus also has an avionics-electronics workshop on the first floor of the facility.

"This is being used for the repair of avionic-electronic equipment used on board the A380, especially items like cabin control, the lights, the seats, the music, and temperature control," adds Helmerichs.

"We are also offering 15 offices on a lease for suppliers who may take them if they wish. Up to 10 offices have already been filled, but in principle I have more than 15 interests for 15 offices."

The initial stock in the warehouse is being filled by sea freight, as local demand for replacement parts of the A380 has not yet hit a peak. "Because of the costs, sea freight is a cheaper option," Helmerichs adds.

"We haven't had any delivery obligations and thus have a much more comfortable time schedule for delivery. Airfreight is generally only used when we need replacements provided quickly and we would use sea freight for the bigger parts even during replenishment."

Last year, Airbus signed a three-year contract with Danzas AEI Emirates, which officially began with the opening of the warehouse.

At the contract signing in 2007, Enver Moretti, CEO and chairman of EMA - DHL Global Forwarding, speaking on behalf of Danzas, said that the company was proud to be embarking on a "long-term commercial relationship" with Airbus.

The contract meant that the 3PL firm is now handling all local logistics for Airbus, including maintaining the warehouse. "They are actually running the show," Helmerichs quips.

"We made a request for a quote last year so other logistics firms could compete. But we finally opted for Danzas as they offered us the best package for a reasonable price. We are very happy."

Does the size of the A380 parts pose any unique challenges to Danzas in delivering them to customers? "Some parts will not fit into a normal undercarriage airfreight plane so we are forced to use an uploading aircraft," says Helmerichs.

"The challenge is to find the right transportation method to the aircraft from the ground. So we depend on special trucking and freighters, which have the ability to raise and carry those parts. We may also use special transportation on those occasions where Danzas is not able to fit the parts, but to my knowledge it has never happened with the A380. But the A380 programme is of course still young."

However, Helmerichs was quick to add that the company uses a range of delivery methods appropriate to the specific customer. "For Emirates and Etihad Airways we deliver by road," he observes.

"It really depends on the part itself. If it is a big item we need to consider if it makes sense to deliver via road transport to Saudi Arabia from here, due to height and weight restrictions on the road. For Qatari clients, we would obviously deliver by airfreight. It is much quicker than other forms of transportation."

Despite being rocked by a series of set-backs which pushed back deliveries, it is believed that Airbus will deliver 12 A380s this year, followed by 21 next year and the full production rate of 45 a year by 2010.

So with the increase in the number of aircraft being sold, will there be a need for the warehouse in Dubai to expand to service local customers?

"For the time being we are happy with our facility," says Helmerichs.

"Our size fits our clients' needs. Of course, we will need to wait to see what the future will bring, but if there is any expansion it will take place in Dubai," he concludes.

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