LONDON, November 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Having experienced rapid growth in recent years, Central and Eastern Europe's burgeoning MRO sector now faces significant challenges.

What will be the impact of changes in component licensing on the competitiveness of independent suppliers and MRO providers? How will the fortunes of the region's airlines affect demand for outsourced maintenance provision? Is the sector really equipped to cope with the evolving needs of customers across the globe?

Returning to Istanbul for the second year in a row, the Airline Engineering and Maintenance Central and Eastern Europe Conference (Nov. 20-22) offers airline operators critical solutions to their most significant maintenance challenges in a dynamic and interactive environment.

Tackling a range of topics that encompass engine and airframe technology, supply chains, recruitment and regulation, the conference is set to attract a host key decision-makers from across the region's MRO community.

Setting the scene for the conference, speaker Steve Bentley, Managing Director of Sofema Aviation Services, stated that:

"With real maintenance costs taking up to 15% of airline budgets, significant savings are there for the taking, but they have to be fought for. Many airlines continue to cling to the same inefficiencies, either with excessive spares holdings, an unwieldy service bulletin, or the failure to use the reliability program as an opportunity to optimize their maintenance program."

Other key speakers will include:

Oguzhan Demiral, Technical Director, FREEBIRD AIRLINES
Adrian Ionascu, Deputy General, BLUE AIR
Robert Domcek, Senior Manager, Safety and Quality, BAHRAIN AIR
Dr. İsmail Demir, Chief Executive Officer, TURKISH TECHNIC
Imad El Filali, Sales Director, CFM
Maurizio Cajani, Design Life Extension Projects, Chief Project Engineering, ATR
Altfried Nessel, Chief Commercial Officer, LUFTHANSA TECHNIK
Declan Meagher, Director Europe, AJ WALTER AVIATION
Fabrice Defrance, Executive Vice President, Commercial, AIR FRANCE KLM E&M
Derek Paterson, Director Sales - Europe, MTU MAINTENANCE

Places are still available for the event. Visit http://www.airlineengineering-cee.com to register or for further information.

Jim Whittock
Conference Programme Editor
UBM Aviation  
T: +44(0)207-955-3970
E: jim.whittock@ubm.com