The boom in the civil aviation industry has not just brought in new carriers , planes and ancillary units, but is also expected to spur a new business segment — refurbishing ageing aircraft.

Converting a 12-15-year-old passenger aircraft into a cargo carrier and extending its life by another 10-15 years of commercial benefit, is what Israel’s top aerospace company, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), says it can do.

The $3.5-billion IAI’s subsidiary, Bedek, has developed the capability and also refurbished Boeing 747, 767, 737 into cargo planes. It takes around 75 days for the conversion and the life can be extended by 15 years, explained Mr Itzhak Nissan, Chief Executive Officer and President of IAI.

In the wake of growing competition, most big airlines want to phase-out their old aircraft and offer the very latest to the travellers. Similarly, new airlines, which buy the old aircraft, have also started pitching for brand new planes to meet challenges from other airlines.

Hence, the refurbishing industry offers big opportunities, he told Business Line here.

While Bedek has its conversion facilities in Tel Aviv, the Israeli capital, it has an Indian company complementing its efforts.

“We are looking at greater Indian participation in the sector. We are exploring the possibility of involving a few small and medium enterprises with technical capability,” Mr Nissan said.

Since Indian, Jet, Sahara, Deccan Aviation, Kingfisher and a host of other Indian airlines have placed orders for hundreds of new aircraft, the IAI sees huge business potential in the future.

IAI, is also firming up plans to set up a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in India. It is in talks with a couple of Indian players and hopes to enter into a tie-up soon, said Mr Nissan, who was in Hyderabad recently to take part in an international meet on space transportation.

Though there are 2-3 competitors in this business, IAI has an early entrant advantage and can deploy its vast expertise in the aerospace sector. IAI is into the manufacture of aircraft, missiles, radars, unmanned aerial vehicles, satellites, high-end systems for several tactical Defence products and so on, he said.