Dubai Airshow 2005, the 9th International Aerospace Exhibition, has been a great success for German Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul (MRO) provider Lufthansa Technik.
“We have been finalising various new agreements with the airlines and VIP operators of the region and I am pretty sure that we will come back in due time to announce further contracts which we negotiated here at the show,” summarised August Wilhelm Henningsen, chairman of the executive board.
General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and UAE Defence Minister, together with Henningsen, unveiled the innovative A380 VVIP model at the Lufthansa Technik Stand present at the inaugural day of the Dubai Airshow. Shortly thereafter Henningsen, as a token of appreciation, offered an exclusive art collection of an Arabian Horse, stitched in copper, to Sheikh Mohammed.
Deutsche Lufthansa AG chairman Wolfgang Mayrhuber, announced the company’s first Total Technical Support (TTS) support contract in the Middle East with Kuwaiti private carrier Jazeera Airways, which will now operate ten new Airbus A320 airplanes. As part of the agreement Lufthansa Technik will provide encompassing engineering services and maintenance support at Jazeera Airways’ hub in Kuwait over the next ten years.
“Since part of our future success will also be a reliable and efficient operation we partnered with Lufthansa Technik, one of the most renowned providers in the industry,” said Marwan Boodai, chairman and CEO, Jazeera Airways. “As the latest start-up carrier in the Middle East region, Jazeera Airways operates already an ambitious network with special operation requirements for highly utilized airplanes. We are pleased of having been selected for this far-reaching maintenance agreement and to offer our complete support for the Airbus A320 fleet,” said Henningsen.
Emirates signed a service contract for its Boeing fleet with Hawker Pacific, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Lufthansa Technik. The service contract entails the exchange, overhaul and support for the landing gears of Emirates’ 21 Boeing 777-200, 777-200ER and 777-300 aircraft which operate with different maximum take-off weights. The first exchange is due at the end of this month and the contract will run until 2013.
In the field of VIP & executive jet solutions, HH Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, chairman of Amiri Flight Abu Dhabi, and Henningsen signed an MoU, laying the foundation for the pursuance of a potential partnership in maintaining and supporting VIP and executive jet aircraft and their owners and operators in the Middle East market. The comprehensive product portfolio will offer the complete range of services for VIP and executive aircraft, including FBO services, fueling, ground handling, line maintenance and interior refurbishment at Abu Dhabi International Airport.
For more than 40 years, Lufthansa Technik has been involved with the Middle East. The world’s leading provider of technical airline services has assumed a variety of support tasks for nearly all the airlines of the Persian Gulf and Arabian Peninsula states and the Arabic countries of North Africa.
Representative examples of the many productive partnerships can be seen in two major deals – in early 2005, Gulf Air signed a TCS, valued more than $100 million. The agreement includes a sale and lease back of components as well as their MRO and the participation in Lufthansa Technik’s vast component pool. The service is offered for nine Boeing 767, six Airbus A330, nine Airbus A340 and ten Airbus A320 with services for more than 1,400 part numbers. It’s the first time that Lufthansa Technik will provide total component support and management to an airline in the Gulf region.
Qatar Airways has signed two agreements: one for the engine maintenance and overhaul of the airline’s Airbus A320 fleet for the next ten years. Lufthansa Technik’s Engine Services will be servicing the different IAE V2500 engine variants of Qatar Airways’ 17 Airbus A320 family airplanes under a Total Engine Support (TES) contract. The second agreement will have Lufthansa Technik installing Rockwell Collins´ Tailwind 560 for onboard live satellite television. Qatar Airways will become the first international airline offering its passengers live TV in the sky.
Despite the still tense situation in worldwide aviation services, Lufthansa Technik has complete confidence in the region and its airlines. "We will further increase our involvement in the region here – with technical services and knowledge transfer," said Henningsen. “Especially the opening of our office in Dubai earlier this year has had a strong and positive effect on the business relationships.”
Both the region’s aircraft types and modern outlook match well with Lufthansa Technik`s product strategy and its technical expertise. The geographic proximity of the Middle East and North African region to Europe as well as the good connections and transport networks between both regions work to benefit the exchange and cooperation.
The combination of Lufthansa Technik`s total support products, which give airlines the immediate assurance of support at minimum expense, and assisting customers to become independent by providing technical training, will continue to make the company a popular partner in the Middle East & North Africa.