Lufthansa Technik (LHT) is planning to build a new plant in southwest Europe that will focus on MRO for individual components of aircraft and engines.
Additionally, LHT has signed a multi-year agreement with Turkish carrier Pegasus Airlines for Base Maintenance Services for over 60 Airbus A320 family aircraft, which will be performed within a dedicated overhaul line at Lufthansa Technik Sofia.
“Yes, we are currently planning to build a new plant in southwest Europe. However, it will not deal with complete aircraft, but with the MRO of individual components of aircraft and engines,” a Lufthansa Technik spokesperson told Aviation Daily in Hamburg on Sept. 4. “The final location decision is currently approaching its final stages. We therefore hope to be able to announce further details very soon.”
Regarding the three-year agreement with Pegasus including more than 60 checks on the airline’s A320ceo, A320neo and A321neo aircraft, the spokesperson said Lufthansa Technik Sofia has a total of eight overhaul lines.
“Due to the current overall good utilization of Lufthansa Technik Sofia, it is of course not an easy undertaking to tie one of these eight lines completely to a single customer for several years,” the spokesperson said. “However, since we see Pegasus as a strategic partner who, due to its rapid fleet growth, also brings long-term prospects for further expansion of the cooperation, we were happy to decide to reserve one of the eight ‘bays’ in Sofia for this valued customer.”
In addition, LHT Sofia also offers a so-called “nose-in position” for smaller jobs on partially docked aircraft. These could be for cabin modifications, for example, but not overhauls.
“With our dedicated overhaul line at Lufthansa Technik Sofia, we are now optimally positioned for the coming years,” Pegasus Senior Purchasing Director Şerife Akın said in a statement. “That gives us flexibility and at the same time guarantees our high-quality standards.”
“Turkey is of course a very important aviation market. In the current case, however, the focus was not on the country of origin, but rather on the airline itself,” the Lufthansa Technik spokesperson said. “We have come to know Pegasus as an innovative and particularly future-oriented customer that simply fits well into our portfolio. We are therefore confident that we can further expand our collaboration in the future.”
Additionally, Pegasus uses solutions from Lufthansa Technik’s AVIATAR digital platform for the targeted optimization of its technical operations.
Pegasus CEO Güliz Öztürk previously told Aviation Week sister publication Air Transport World that the ULCC is working to establish its own MRO hangar at Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport.
Lufthansa Technik’s base maintenance portfolio in Europe includes other facilities beside Sofia, such as those located at Lufthansa Technik Malta and Lufthansa Technik Budapest. LHT Hamburg offers Base Maintenance for VIP-, government- and special-mission-aircraft.
