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Busted Jet? Find a Shop on 'Jet Repair Anywhere' Web Site Posted by George Larson Jet Repair Anywhere is a new web-based company based in Scottsdale, Ariz. with a new twist on matchmaking: It hooks up broken jets with qualified repair shops. Founder Cheryl Janke, herself an experienced director of maintenance for a charter fleet of 18 aircraft, launched the enterprise about 18 months ago and is already getting more than a thousand hits a month. The web site at www.jetrepairanywhere.com was created because its frustrated CEO had a hard time finding the right repair shop when her airplanes had failures. "Aircraft don't break Monday through Friday from eight to five," Janke says. "Mostly it's during dinner and on the weekend," she adds with a rueful laugh. She got tired of spending endless hours on the phone trying to locate a qualified shop, so she began to assemble a directory of shops totally dedicated to turbine operators and now has 5,500 U.S. shops and 500 international facilities listed. "What we're selling is convenience, compliance and safety," Janke says. Go into the system to get a free quote and you find the shop's documents all present and accounted for. For charter operators trying to find repairs, that saves faxing qualifying documents back and forth. Airframe qualifications for every shop are accessible, and operators can search the database geographically or by aircraft type. Even the shop's required drug testing certificates are on line. "Part 135 operators need to ensure that the repair shop is qualified," she says. "This makes it easy." Annual dues for shops are $1,500 for WRENCH Two, a program for full service repair shops and $900 for WRENCH One for a specialty shop. Operators pay $900 for Toolkit, for three aircraft or less, and $1,500 for Toolbox, covering four or more. "Some subscribers print the search list before a trip and then use it as part of the trip kit," she says. Janke's team will also perform audits on request for an additional fee. (For toll-free contact, 877- 349-2538) |