Left to right: Dharmadi, president commissioner of GMF; Mahesh Kumar, CEO of Asia Digital Engineering (ADE); Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A; Andi Fahrurrozi, CEO of GMF; Rahmat Hanafi, commissioner of GMF.
BALI, Indonesia—Capital A MRO subsidiary Asia Digital Engineering (ADE) and Garuda Maintenance Facility AeroAsia (GMF) announced on Sept. 18 the two companies will be entering a joint venture (JV) to invest in a landing gear facility aimed at serving the bullish Southeast Asian market.
GMF already has a landing gear shop, and the $12 million investment will see the landing gear unit spun out into a new entity with GMF taking the 51% majority stake.
GMF CEO Andi Fahrurrozi told media at Bali Airshow that the JV will take effect starting early 2025 and will generate “hundreds” of jobs as the scale expands.
Capital A CEO Tony Fernandes said the collaboration between Capital A and Garuda group “has blossomed” since the pair signed a cooperation agreement in 2023. Fernandes added that both companies have been known for airframe maintenance, and the JV is a step toward increased component capabilities in a collective manner, and keeping that capability within Southeast Asia.
The new company will service both AirAsia group and Garuda Group aircraft, progressing to other airlines as scale increases. The Aviation Week Network Fleet Discovery database shows parent airline AirAsia and Garuda alone have 82 in-service Airbus A320s and 38 Boeing 737-800s, respectively.
