A familiar face, a fresh perspective: Vallair appoints Malcolm Chandler as MRO Sales Director – Lessors & Airlines
Châteauroux, 26 October 2026: Vallair, the multi-disciplinary MRO and mature aircraft asset specialist, has appointed experienced commercial expert Malcolm Chandler as MRO Sales Director – Lessors & Airlines. After gaining valuable international experience in a highly competitive sector, his appointment marks his return to the Company in a senior leadership role, where he will be responsible for the Company’s MRO activities throughout the department and across its two facilities in Châteauroux and Montpellier.
He returns to a business that is built for what next awaits the MRO landscape, bringing fresh and broad perspectives, valuable market insight and enhanced industry knowledge. Ready to drive commercial growth, he has identified maximising efficiency and future-proofing as his priorities across his remit of airframes, engines, and aerostructures. He will spearhead new business opportunities and strengthen partner relationships to deliver high-quality and cost-effective MRO services to customers.
He explains: “It is an exciting time to return to Vallair and I am looking forward to contributing to the next stage of development. The Company has undergone significant transformation, through change, investment, and a renewed leadership team. However, it has maintained its commitment to technical excellence and operational reliability. We are concentrating on building on these fundamentals, consolidating our services and making significant investments to ensure we evolve with the needs of our customers. With our latest A330 NEO maintenance approval, for example, we are expanding our capabilities so that we can offer the highest-quality, most cost-effective solutions for flag carriers, lessors and airlines within our geographical footprint.”
Pascal Parant, Chief Commercial & Marketing Officer at Vallair Group, welcomes Chandler’s return to the Company: “Malcolm has a strong reputation for business development across the airline and lessor sector and a proven track record for driving impact. He returns to a company which he knows but which has evolved: over recent times, Vallair has taken decisive steps to strengthen its capabilities and invest in its people. A respected and well-known industry figure, Malcolm brings a deep understanding of customer needs and a sharp sensitivity to the nuances of the market. He is uniquely placed not only to support the Company through its ongoing growth, but also reinforce the standards that matter most to aircraft owners, lessors, asset managers and MRO partners.”
Chandler is working closely with internal MRO and commercial teams to implement restructuring measures and streamline workflows across Vallair’s range of airframe services, including full base maintenance, lease transfers, parking & storage, painting and teardown. The Company’s approvals cover A330 CEO/NEO, A340-300/-600, A320 CEO/NEO and 737 aircraft, with further new generation aircraft, both narrow and wide body, progressively being added. Chandler’s scope also encompasses engine activities, such as storage, part out and light repairs, as well as services for aerostructures.
Vallair celebrates arrival of first A330 NEO for base maintenance at Châteauroux facility in France
Châteauroux, 21 October 2026: Vallair, the leading MRO and asset management service provider, has received its first A330 NEO to arrive for maintenance following attainment of the type rating approval in the summer. The aircraft, operated by a South American airline, is undergoing full base maintenance at the Company’s state-of-the-art facility in Châteauroux, France.
François Fermaut, Director of Operations – Châteauroux, comments: “The arrival of the first A330 NEO is a welcome sight, it is always energising to exercise new capabilities and bring more benefits for customers.”
He elaborates: “Our expansion into the A330 NEO platform has come at an exciting time. The aircraft type is experiencing a period of increasing adoption by airlines and demand has risen for qualified maintenance providers such as Vallair. With just under three hundred orders still to be delivered by Airbus, Vallair predicts that demand for MRO on the A330 NEO will only continue to surge in the coming years.”
Grégoire Lebigot, CEO of the Vallair Group, compounds: “The addition of this capability is a testament to our dedication to our customers. We understand that operators are increasingly turning to the A330 NEO for value, versatility and efficiency. Perceptive to this evolution, we have made ourselves ready to meet the maintenance demand for customers across the platform. Our approval, and now this first aircraft, signifies the latest in a comprehensive growth campaign to expand our capabilities in parallel with market needs.”
Lebigot continues: “The continuously evolving geopolitical situation in the Middle East has also prompted operators to look back at Europe for MRO and asset management opportunities. As such, it is becoming increasingly important for European providers to have capacity to deliver. Vallair is well placed not only to meet requirements but also to provide a competitive offering in the region, underpinned by extensive investment to capabilities as well as the workforce, as evidenced by the operations of the Company’s in-house technician training centre, Aircraft Academy.”
AviTrader MRO360° - Component Support for Ageing Aircraft
Recently, Pascal Parant, Chief Commercial Officer at Vallair, shared his insights on component support for ageing aircraft in AviTrader MRO360°.
“When determining whether a component should be repaired, overhauled, exchanged or replaced, you must consider pure economics in each case. If considering repair or overhaul, ask yourself if there is a cheaper solution. There may be special agreements with the OEM, offering discounts on new parts, or equivalent USM is readily available on the market at a lower cost. Similarly, not every component needs a full overhaul. Sometimes a repair is sufficient, or only certain sub-assemblies need to be overhauled, making the overall shop visit much more economical. Optimising in this way requires deep knowledge of the asset and its components to select the most appropriate solution.”
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Article courtesy of AviTrader.