ST Aerospace clinches SG$1b maintenance contract with Jet Airways
Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly
ST Aerospace, a unit of Singapore-listed ST Engineering, has edged out 10 other contenders to land a major maintenance deal with India’s Jet Airways. The SG$1-billion contract is the largest engine deal to date for ST Aerospace. Together with that, ST Aerospace will be maintaining 143 CFM56-7B engines aircraft engines for Jet Airways and its budget airline JetLite for the next 10 years. Under the Maintenance-by-the-Hour contract, ST Aerospace will provide engineering support for engines of 67 Boeing 737 next generation aircraft. Work for both airlines will involve off-wing, on-wing and on-site support, as well as fleet technical and asset management support. ST Aerospace said the maintenance work will be done at its facilities in Singapore and the one that is due to open in Xiamen, China, later this year. Together, they will be able to service 400 to 450 engines a year. Jet Airways is the largest private carrier in India, with a network of 41 domestic and 21 international destinations. It believes the agreement will cut aircraft downtime due to repairs. Bidding for the contract was keen. “There were various well known MRO service providers who bid for that contract because of our years of association with ST Aerospace and the very good pricing that was offered, ST Aerospace was eventually selected,” said Saroj Datta, executive director of Jet Airways. ST Aerospace said it has been working with the Indian carrier for 18 years, and the two companies plan to cooperate further in future. ST Aerospace said Jet Airways is one of its biggest customers in India, which also include other clients like Air India and SpiceJet. While it is not ready to invest in India just yet, ST Aerospace said the country shows good potential. “India is rapidly industrialising and growing; not as fast as China as yet, but it is getting there, and when that happens, a lot of airlines will fly in as well,” said Tay Kok Khiang, president of ST Aerospace. “So it is not just the local market, it is the international market (as well). Our main purpose is to draw on the resources, the lower cost etc to serve our international customers.” ST Aerospace and Jet Airways said they are optimistic about the aviation sector in the long term.
Comments are closed.