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Ocean Sky appoints Sugden to head expanding Luton maintenance facility

Aviation - 4th May 2011

London, 4 May 2011 Leading international private jet company Ocean Sky is appointing Chris Sugden as manager of its expanding engineering operations at London Luton Airport.

Sugden will oversee all business aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services at Ocean Sky’s 46,000-square foot Luton facility. A sister operation to Ocean Sky’s engineering base at Manchester airport, the Luton facility provides authorised maintenance services for the full range of Bombardier business jets and supports aircraft from other manufacturers, including Dassault.

Since acquiring the Luton hangar from airline Monarch in May 2010, Ocean Sky has seen its total engineering revenues grow by 20%. The group is forecasting engineering revenues to grow by a further 60% in the next 12 months.

Sugden says: “Joining a well-established company and heading a new engineering facility at a London airport is an exciting opportunity, especially as we will be servicing aircraft from all parts of the globe. We have a fully-functioning engineering facility and a team of highly-qualified engineers: my role will be to ensure maximum utilisation of resources and to grow the business.”

Sugden is an experienced aircraft engineer and manager who has held senior roles at London Business Aviation, Hunting Business Aviation and Hatfield Executive Aviation, and worked with Hawker Beechcraft, Harrods Aviation, NetJets Europe, Raytheon Aircraft Services and British Aerospace.

Ocean Sky’s group chief executive Stephen Grimes says: “In Chris, we have a highly-experienced engineer with the capability to manage the significant growth we have planned for Luton. Together with the engineering capabilities at our Manchester Jet Centre, the Luton facility gives Ocean Sky the capacity to become the UK’s leading maintenance provider for Bombardier aircraft and a prominent provider for other makes.”

High-resolution photographs of Chris Sugden can be downloaded here.