Late in 2024, Aero Star Aviation, an approved FAA repair facility and aircraft maintenance company specialising in the Embraer Phenom 100 and 300 and Praetor 500 and 600, secured an additional 30,000sqft of hangar space and 22,000sqft of office/shop space at Dallas Love Field Airport, Texas. The expansion comes in parallel with a 20% increase in workforce through 2024 and places Aero Star among the largest independent Embraer-focused maintenance management facilities in the region. Owner and company president Chris Grinnell answered EVA’s questions as he looked forward to the additional space coming into operation in the first quarter of 2025
What’s the story behind your close connection with Embraer?
I was with the Embraer Authorized Service Center and worked on Phenom 100 SN:5000008 back in 2008, when it was first delivered. Simulator training was initially at Fort Worth Meacham International Airport (FTW) but fortunately for me the simulator wasn’t up and running for the first few deliveries, and I was the technician working on the aircraft during flight training at Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport (AFW).
Fast forward and I stuck with the Phenom – and was lucky enough to choose the number one best-selling light jet of the past decade. I started Aero Star Aviation back in 2014, with the sole focus of providing services for Embraer products. Aero Star is currently not an Embraer Authorized Service Center, but we hope to be one in the future.
As the Praetor flies, Love Field and Fort Lauderdale seem relatively close. Why are your assets distributed this way?
Our Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) base is strictly for transient customers and AOG. We support the East Coast and islands out of FLL. The central US location of Dallas Love Field (KDAL) benefits customers on both East and West Coasts. We currently service customers from all four corners of North America.
Aero Star appears to base its offer on delivering high-quality maintenance alongside the ultimate in customer service. How is that achieved?
We found our offer on customer service and strive for excellence each and every day. We see ourselves as an extension of the customer’s flight department, which gives every operator certainty that their best interests are prioritised.
We base our service on answering when they call, listening to every request and keeping our word. If we do not meet a customer’s requirements completely the first time, they become our main priority until they are satisfied.
What does the expansion at Love Field look like? What capability has it added?
Our previous facility could accommodate no more than eight aircraft at a time. With the additional space across the three new facilities we’ve acquired, we’re now able to accommodate more than 45 aircraft every day. This expanded footprint means our managed and transient customers will continue to receive the Aero Star service standards we aim for, while with the Praetor 500/600 delivering to the largest fleet operator and corporate flight departments, we can provide the services those operators are looking for as well.
A combination of people and technology is key to profitable, efficient MRO operations. How do you attract, train and retain your people?
Our employees and technicians are like family. We encourage a strong culture that creates bonds. Working on only one OEM’s aircraft has allowed us to build a robust training programme that provides technicians with a deep knowledge base. Seeing the same airplane models every day builds on that.
Every quarter we host a ‘lunch and learn’. It helps us and our employees to provide feedback on how the company is doing (good and bad) and where we are going, and gives us a platform from which to share the company vision with new staff. When they understand the vision they better understand what they are working for.
In terms of recruitment, we are working with an agency targeting veterans who worked on aircraft in the military. They already have an understanding of aviation and we find this works well with our learning curve.
Considering technology, as we’ve continued to grow we’ve found that cloud-based software is best for our technicians. A couple of years ago we switched to Corridor. It allows us to manage all day-to-day business, from outside repairs, through inventory, work order flow and billing, to aircraft record compliance.
What’s next for Aero Star?
I honestly don’t know, except that we will continue to build on our recent expansion and focus on quality and customer service.