German engine repair specialist MTU Maintenance has signed an agreement for its Chinese business to repair more than 100 of All Nippon Airways’ CFM International CFM56-5B engines powering its Boeing 737NG aircraft fleet.
MTU Maintenance Zhuhai, a joint venture between MTU Aero Engines and China Southern Airlines, will undertake repairs on the engine types up to 2032. All Nippon Airways (ANA) operates 47 737NG aircraft in total and has had an association with MTU Maintenance Zhuhai going back 15 years.
Last December, MTU Maintenance reached the milestone of its 25,000th shop visit with ANA at its shop in Hannover, where it maintains the carrier’s CF6-80C2 engines which power its 767-300ER fleet. MTU also carries out engine parts and accessories services for ANA’s engines at its facility in Vancouver along with other dedicated repair facilities.
Hideaki Honda, vice president of global supplier relations and planning at ANA, says the Tokyo-headquartered airline will benefit from having its CFM56 engines repaired close to its main base. MTU says last year, it held a market share of around 10% for the CFM56-7B, and to date has carried out more than 1,400 shop visits on that engine variant alone.
In addition to the CFM56-5B and -7B variants, MTU Maintenance Zhuhai also repairs Leap-1A and1B engines, as well as Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-JM geared turbofan (GTF) and International Aero Engines V2500 engines.
Last week, the MRO provider added a second location in Jinwan, located around 12 mi. from its existing Zhuhai site. MTU Maintenance Zhuhai Jinwan will focus on repairs for the PW1000G engine and will have capacity for up to 260 engine shop visits annually once ramped up to full capacity.
The Jinwan facility also has a 60,000-lb.-thrust test cell catering for the GTF engine, which at the time the company said gave it capacity for approximately 710 tests annually.
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