N3 Engine Overhaul Services, the Lufthansa Technik-Rolls-Royce engine maintenance joint venture, officially opened its new facility in Thuringia, Germany, Friday. LHT and Rolls have invested around €100 million ($139 million) in the N3 site, which will overhaul Trent 500, 700 and 900 engines powering the A340-500/600, A330 and A380 respectively. N3 received EASA Part 145 approval in April. It employs 270, a figure that is expected to rise to 500 by 2010.

WHILE THE TREND toward increased outsourcing of maintenance, repair and overhaul activities is undeniable and proving to be an effective strategy for many airlines, there is a significant challenge to the growth of the trend, according to experts who spoke to Airline Procurement. That challenge relates to the inherent confusion and disjointed systems that exist in most MRO organizations.

Lufthansa Technik started construction yesterday on a 27,000-sq.-m. maintenance hangar for A330s and A340 in Malta. LHT will invest €55 million ($74.9 million) and said the project will create about 540 jobs. The facility should be operational by the 2008 fourth quarter and will be leased to Lufthansa Technik Malta, in which Lufthansa will hold 92% and Air Malta the remainder. LH said the expansion is required to meet rising demand for MRO on the Airbus widebodies. LHT also operates an A330/A340 facility in Manila.

KLM Engineering & Maintenance Executive VP Peter Somers told ATWOnline at the Paris Air Show that Air France Industries and KLM M&E intend to increase their collective profile among the world's largest MRO providers and narrow the gap with Lufthansa Technik through both the addition of new capabilities and acquisitions. "Several of KLM M&E's present customers and/or KLM alliance partners [such as Northwest Airlines and Kenya Airways] have ordered the Dreamliner and they have approached us to see if can support them.

KEEPING AN AIRLINER aloft to generate maximum profits calls for efficient management of a vast number of spare parts. Making sure there are enough pumps, tires, avionics gear, engines, cabin carpets, brackets and thousands of other aircraft supplies available for MRO is a major procurement challenge. No wonder that maintenance and supply managers worry ceaselessly about whether there is a shortage of this or that bit of hardware at the right time and in the right place to keep aircraft flying.

Lufthansa Technik said it will become the first international MRO provider to establish an Indian base when it opens a 20,000-sq.-m. facility outside Hyderabad at the end of next year.

American Airlines parent AMR Corp. is planning to invest up to $100 million into its Maintenance Services group in an effort to bolster third-party business. It said the funding will be used to update facilities, invest in new technology and increase efficiencies. "In the past three years, we have worked with our [Transport Workers Union] partners to reduce costs, streamline processes and keep the vast majority of our own aircraft maintenance work in-house," said Senior VP-Technical Operations Bob Reding.

Pratt & Whitney wants to grow its presence in the maintenance, repair and overhaul aftermarket beyond powerplants, Global Service Partners Senior VP and GM Jim Keenan told ATWOnline this week in Hartford, Conn.