Gallery: Aftermarket News From Farnborough 2024

HAECO Group and GE Aerospace signed a Material Service Agreement for GE90 engines, under which HAECO will provide engine overhaul services for the OEM and expand its external GE90 MRO market. The companies also extended service and offload agreements for GE90 engines through 2040 and signed a memorandum of understanding that secures HAECO’s Xiamen engine services facility’s position in the GE9X engine’s global MRO network.

Boeing designated Lufthansa Technik as its first licensed service center for 787 cabin modifications due to fleet expansion and lifecycle needs. The companies expect the first 787 service agreement modification to start next year.

Gulf Air announced plans to build a new MRO facility at Bahrain International Airport. The facility will include more than 21,500 ft.² of hangar space, stores, workshops and a dedicated tarmac. Gulf Air Group CEO Jeffrey Goh says it will be the airline's first purpose-built MRO facility.

Ethiopian Airlines’ maintenance arm, Ethiopian MRO, signed a letter of intent with ATR to develop aircraft maintenance and training capabilities for the OEM’s aircraft. The cooperation would also include establishing a local spares stock to reduce response time for ATR operators in the region.

Vietjet signed a Total Component Support (TCS) agreement with Lufthansa Technik (LHT) covering its fleet of Airbus A320 family and A330 aircraft. Starting from October 2024, LHT says the agreement is its largest TCS contract in the Southeast Asia region.

Boeing Global Services CEO and President Chris Raymond told the press at Farnborough that the OEM remains open to more potential acquisitions and partnerships in its aftermarket business, and it is looking to incorporate a digital focus at its recently opened MRO facility in Jacksonville, Florida. The OEM also released its latest Pilot and Technician Outlook, predicting that the world will need 716,000 new maintenance technicians over the next 20 years.

Safran announced it will construct a new maintenance shop in Queretaro, Mexico as an extension of its production plant—both of which will be dedicated to the CFM Leap engine. Safran is investing $80 million in construction, and the shop is expected to begin operations by 2026. It says the new shop will increase its annual capacity by 150 engines by 2030 and create nearly 500 direct jobs.

GA Telesis Engine Services (GATES) will begin using sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) for engine testing, starting with DHL Express. The first testing will use SAF supplied by Neste made from 100% renewable waste. DHL Express aims to use SAF to meet 30% of its fleet’s fuel needs by 2030.

HAECO signed a line maintenance contract with Loong Air covering services for the carrier’s Airbus A320-family aircraft, including certificate of release to service, transit support and cleaning, and ground services equipment. HAECO will provide services at Hong Kong International Airport.

Thai Airways extended its TrueChoice Service agreement with GE Aerospace for MRO of GE90 engines by six years. The engines power the airline’s Boeing 777 fleet.

Electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) developers Wisk Aero and Lilium shared new aftermarket plans and developments at Farnborough. Wisk CEO Brian Yutko said the company is starting to work with some potential partners in the aftermarket space. Lilium announced a new suite of digital tools as part of its Power-On Aftermarket Services portfolio to support operators, including electronic flight bag solutions, an AI-enabled customer portal and other ground operations and safety tools.

Liebherr-Aerospace has signed a general terms agreement granting license rights to AAR to maintain, repair and service its products for 10 years. AAR will carry out services on Liebherr’s flight control, environmental control and thermal management components. The agreement also includes a power-by-the-hour contract for several AAR partner companies.

Air Tahiti signed an eight-year Global Maintenance Agreement with ATR as part of its new order for four 72-600 aircraft. Under the deal, ATR will provide repair, overhaul and pooling services of line replaceable units.

Air Mauritius selected Airbus’ Fleet Technical Management services to support its A350 and A330 fleet. The deal will include continuing airworthiness management organization activities, engineering support to the maintenance control center and preventative maintenance services. It also signed a three-year partnership agreement with Sanad covering engine MRO services for its Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines.

Sanad signed an agreement with Rolls-Royce to collaborate on developing the next generation of talent. Starting in September 2025, the companies will jointly select outstanding Sanad employees with leadership potential to join Rolls-Royce’s UK team for a six-month period. 

TUI Airways extended its TrueChoice Service agreement with GE Aerospace covering MRO of the GEnx engines powering its Boeing 787 fleet. GE says the extension covers support for the coming period as it prepares to transition to its new TrueChoice engine maintenance offerings for GEnx engines.

British Airways told the press at Farnborough that it has enhanced its use of data and analytics to improve the performance of its Airbus A320neo fleet. CEO and Chairman Sean Doyle says that the airline has reduced downtime on the fleet type by about 4%.

Pratt & Whitney finalized engine and aftermarket agreements for the geared turbofan (GTF) engines powering Air Niugini’s 11 Airbus A220s. The OEM will provide a range of support services under a 12-year EngineWise agreement.

Fokker Services Group renewed a total support contract with the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNAF) covering standard parts and expendables. The contract covers more than 20,000 part numbers for a wide range of aircraft platforms operated by the RNAF, including logistics services, forecasting, consignment stock management and introduction of approved alternative items.

Vallair signed a memorandum of understanding with the College de Paris International to collaborate on aeronautical skills training, certification and development programs at Vallair Group subsidiary Aircraft Academy. The college says the partnership will help it target international candidates with technical diplomas who want to become aircraft mechanics or avionics technicians.

Turkish Airlines signed a combined engine sales and TrueChoice Flight Hour agreement with GE Aerospace for eight GE90-110B engines to power four Boeing 777 freighters.

De Havilland Canada began a new OEM certified refurbishment program for its Dash 8-400 aircraft that offers the option to equip refurbished aircraft with Pratt & Whitney Canada PW150A engines. Pratt will offer both new production and refurbished PW150A engines through the program.

Turkey’s Freebird Airlines selected Collins Aerospace’s Ascentia cloud-based data management and analytics platform for aircraft maintenance. The airline says the software will enhance its MRO efficiency, reduce engineering costs and improve its ability to predict and prevent AOGs.

HAECO’s composite services division extended its contract with Airbus covering radome repair services for a range of aircraft, including the A320, A330, A340, A350 and A380. HAECO says it is the only approved repair station for Airbus in the Chinese Mainland.

Lufthansa Technik signed a memorandum of understanding with Lockheed Martin to collaborate on sustainment and logistics solutions for global customers. 

AllClear Repair Services was approved by Honeywell as an authorized service center for the OEM’s military auxiliary power units, pneumatic components, starter control valves, anti-ice valves, wheels and brakes, and other related accessory components for a variety of defense aircraft platforms.

ITP Aero extended its MRO services contract with Pratt & Whitney Canada until 2028 for the mid-turbine frame and low-pressure compressor modules of the PW800 engine. The companies first signed a contract covering these services in 2021.