Heavy Maintenance

• SAA Technical is well equipped to handle all major maintenance requirements. It has superb facilities, the most modern equipment and a large, highly skilled workforce.
• SAA Technical has a reputation for high-quality work at a very competitive labour rates, earned over decades of providing heavy maintenance services to local and international airlines.
• Aircraft downtime is reduced by world-class facilities and equipment and through scheduling aircraft modifications and repaints during C and D checks.
• SAA Technical has nearly 85 000 square meters of hangar space. This includes the 36 000 square meter major maintenance hangar, the largest in Africa, capable of accommodating 5x B747 aircraft simultaneously. A multipurpose dock, capable of handling A340-200/300/600 aircraft, all B747 aircraft and MD11 aircraft.
• SAA Technical believes this dock will enable it to reduce aircraft downtime on heavy maintenance by between three and four days.
• SAA Technical does all major maintenance for SAA. It also provides major maintenance to a number of European, African and Middle East airlines.
• The high capability in modifications includes strut modifications, FQIS (Fuel Quantity Indication System) replacement, ACARS-ARINC (Communication and Reporting System) installation, EGPWS (Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System) installation, Satellite Communication installation, Traffic Collision Avoidance System, enhanced IFE system installation, GPS (Global Positioning System), HUD (Head Up Display) installation and yaw damper modification and Cabin reconfiguration.
• During a D-check, the aircraft is paint stripped, the cabin removed and fully refurbished in SAAT workshops. The aircraft interior and exterior are put through a deep cleaning process to facilitate a thorough detail inspection & X-ray, and all corrosion and cracks are identified and repaired. All mandatory and customer identified modifications are incorporated. Scheduled component changes are executed. After the assembly of the cabin and installation of all components, a vigorous testing procedure of all systems are carried out. The conclusion of the major check is followed by a flight test.
• SAA Technical has a dedicated paint hangar, equipped to do all levels of painting including complete repaints as well as internal and external decals. SAA Technical is a one-stop shop for all heavy maintenance, including the capability to test, repair and release components on site.

Capabilities for C and D checks include:

• B747 Series
• B737 Classic/NG
• MD11
• A319 Series
• A320 Series
• A340 Series

Line Maintenance

• SAA Technical (SAAT) has more than 700 technical staff providing line maintenance services to South African Airways and a large number of international airlines. These services are provided at Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban and some other centres.
• Line maintenance includes A and B checks, technical defect rectification and aircraft exterior cleaning. SAT is the only maintenance facility in the world providing customers with the specialist service of hand-polished aircraft.
• In addition to the normal maintenance programme, a dedicated team ensures that aircraft interiors are maintained to a high standard. When all airlines have similar aircraft and technical facilities, the cabin appearance and functionality is a key consideration in customer satisfaction and loyalty.
• SAAT is expanding its footprint into Africa. It has locally trained technical staff placed in Lusaka, Lanseria, Mauritius, Dakar, Luanda and Kigali. This not only assists SAA, but it facilitates the development of aviation services , especially technical maintenance, on the African continent
• SAAT provides an aircraft recovery service through a specialist team on a 24-hour standby bases. This team is fully equipped to handle any type of emergency in Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands and these services are jointly conducted with IATP.

Component Workshops

• Non Destructive Inspection - NDI methods such as MPI, FPI, X-Ray, Eddy Current & Thermography are used to supplement visual inspection to avoid costly tear down in gaining access to hidden structures and to provide early detection of defects before they reach critical size. Non-destructive Inspection is an essential part of aircraft maintenance and requires trained and experienced inspectors.
   
• Welding, Heat Treatment & Flame spray sections, undertake:

• Tig, Dabber Tig and Mobile welding.
• Profile Cutting - using a large gas profile cutter 2.5 X 2.5 metres.
• Metal spraying - plasma and flame spraying for repair of journals, sealing surfaces, etc.
• Heat Treatment - air furnaces and vacuum furnace.
   

• Machine Shop

• Manufacturing or repair of parts using the grinding, milling, turning, jig boring, electrical discharge machine(EDM) processes.
   

• Inspection & Quality - 3D Automatic programmable co-ordinate measuring machine.
• Electro Plating - a vast range of plating processes are available.
• Surface Preparation Section - For metal improvement the Peening Processes are used. Blasting machines are used for different applications.

• Chemical cleaning is done to remove carbon, oxidation, coatings, dirt, epoxy paint, normal paint and even silicone rubber. Vibro polishing is used to polish or de-bur parts.
   

• Metrology - Avionics & Dimensional Calibrations and repair done on all instrumentation.
• Aircraft Structures - manufacturing and repair.
• Composite Workhop - Manufacture and repair of all composites using the composite and metal bonded processes.
• Paint Shop - Undertaking all aircraft and part painting. Special coatings are available such as Sermetal W, Baked Enamel, etc.
• Wheels & Brakes - Full wheel & brake overhaul and repair capabilities on B737-200, B737-400, B737-500, B737-800, B767-200 and B747 -200; -300; -400 and A319, A340-200; -300; -600.
• Interior refurbishment - Overhaul and repair of all aircraft interiors

Components Shop

• DOT approved to Hydro Static Testing & filling of: Hand held NC Cabin fire extinguishers with HALON 1211 Cargo, Engine & APU fire extinguishers with HALON1301
• Escape Slide Cylinders with CO2
• Overhaul of Escape Slide Cylinder regulator heads. Fabrication of NC Flight Control Cables

Accessories Shop

• Repair & Overhaul of B737 & B747 Fuel, Oil, Pneumatic & Hydraulic Components

Landing Gear

• Overhaul of B737-800 and B747-400 Landing Gear