Pratt & Whitney and Turkish Airlines Technic signed a joint venture agreement yesterday to build a major engine overhaul center at Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen (ATWOnline, Oct. 8, 2007). The facility will be P&W's eighth commercial engine overhaul center. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Pratt & Whitney Turkish Technic Aircraft Engine Maintenance Center will overhaul V2500 and CFM56(r) engines. Construction will begin shortly and the facility will induct its first engine in 2009.

ENGINE CONDITION MONITORING is moving from diagnostics toward prognostics, pushing at least part way toward true condition-based maintenance. Sensors and systems have become very good at forecasting and thus preventing potential failures, saving money on delays and major repairs. But they cannot reliably predict success: How much longer a part or engine can stay on-wing.

Pratt & Whitney took a big step forward toward expanding its engine maintenance, repair and overhaul footprint in Europe and the Middle East with this month's agreement with Turkish Airlines Technic to build a 25,000-sq.-m. engine overhaul center at Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport.

Delta Air Lines maintenance arm Delta TechOps signed a 10-year, $1 billion-plus deal with Chromalloy Gas Turbine Corp. that represents "the largest and most significant [PMA] agreement in the airline industry," adds the CFM56-5 to DTO's portfolio and will result in 250 additional engine overhauls, DL announced yesterday.

Frontier Airlines will build a new heavy maintenance base at Colorado Springs and plans to launch the $25 million construction project in late spring 2008. When completed in 12-18 months, the facility will employ around 225 and feature approximately 30,000 sq. ft. of hangar space, 45,000 sq. ft. of offices and support shops and 25,000 sq. ft. of warehouse and tool room space. Frontier, which currently leases space at Denver International, said it spent more than a year researching the site and that Colorado Springs "has proven. .

Messier Services officially opened its new Americas landing gear and hydraulics MRO facility in Queretaro, Mexico, completing its move from Washington Dulles to a 10,000-sq.-m. complex with potential for substantial growth.

Goodrich Corp. announced yesterday that it is selling its heavy maintenance base, Goodrich Aviation Technical Services in Everett, Wash., to Australia's Macquarie Bank. Subject to regulatory clearance, the sale is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Price was not disclosed. ATS employs more than 1,200 at the 950,000-sq.-ft. facility offering heavy airframe checks, component repair and overhaul, engineering and modifications and cargo conversions. Prior to its 1988 acquisition by Goodrich, it operated as Tramco.

Lufthansa Technik intends to invest close to €50 million ($70.1 million) to build a new engine MRO shop in Hamburg that is expected to boost repair capacity from 320 engines per year currently to 400. Construction of the facility, which will have 15,000 sq. m. of floor space, is set to begin next month with the first engine overhaul planned for early 2009. According to LHT Executive Board Chairman August Henningsen, "the new hall will make it possible to design engine overhaul production and processes so as to incorporate the latest thinking on these subjects.