For many years, Flying Colours has rebuilt and reconfigured used jets into customized VIP aircraft. They are now working with Bombardier to complete so-called green aircraft. These are new aircraft that are complete — except they have not yet been painted in an airline’s colours.
New aircraft — often called green aircraft — are coated in a green primer. Companies like Flying Colours put the finishing touches on airplanes before they are delivered.
“We have been working on green aircraft since 2010, and we are ASI100 certified and we’re the preferred completion centre for Bombardier Aerospace. It will allow us to work on mainly the VIP configuration for Global 6000 and 7000,” says Kate Ahrens with Flying Colours.
Flying Colours currently has 250 employees on the payroll. The investment, which includes $30 million raised by the company and $1 million from the Eastern Ontario Development Fund, will see the addition of up to 60 new jobs and the construction of a new manufacturing and operations hangar. Peterborough airport has been designated by the city as an area for expanded airside business opportunities. The airport manager welcomes the news about Flying Colours.
“The more that Flying Colours expands, the greater chance we are going to attract somebody that’s in the aerospace business. It’s a compliment to them,” Trent Gervais, general manager of the Peterborough Airport, said.
The expansion of Flying Colours will be spread over the next several years