MGAE in talks with SpiceJet for MRO Services for Bombardiers

MAS GMR Aerospace Engineering is in talks with SpiceJet for offering aircraft maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) services for the airlines newly acquired Bombardier Q400 fleet a senior official of the GMR Group said.

MGAE was also in discussions with Jet Airways for MRO services at Rajiv Gandhi international Airport here the official said.

MGAE is a 50:50 Joint Venture partnership between Malaysian Aerospace Engineering Sdn.

Bhd and GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited.

The MRO facility already has signed an agreement with SpiceJet for its Boeing 737 airplanes and discussions are on how to offer services for its Bombardier Q400 fleet.

"We are in discussions with Spicejet (for their Bombardier fleet). We have already signed a five year contract for MRO facilities for their Boeing 737 fleet. I cannot tell you when the deal will be closed," the official told PTI.

SpiceJet recently acquired 15 Q-400 aircraft at a list price of $450 million.

The Q-400 aircraft, which will be flying in India for the first time, has a seating capacity of about 80 and would operate in Tier II and III cities.

Besides Q400, SpiceJet has 36 aircraft (Boeing serices) in its fleet and are being serviced by MGAe, a SpiceJet spokesperson said.

MGAE currently has medium to long term contracts with five customers - Go Air, Spice jet, Bank of China Aviation and another two undisclosed key companies.

The MRO complex which was set up with an investment of Rs 350 crore can perform base maintenance 'C' and 'D' checks for A320s, ATR 42s, ATR 72s and the new generation Boeing 737s to begin with.

It will build its capability gradually to provide maintenance services for Airbus 330s and Boeing 777s.

The facility which currently has the capacity to do an estimated 200 aircraft checks annually so far serviced 25 aircraft.

The facility obtained regulatory certifications from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for domestic airlines, as well as the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for international flights, GMR had said earlier.

The facility is expected to help airlines deploy their aircraft back to operations in the fastest possible time, since it is located within the special economic zone near Hyderabad airport, GMR had said in a statement earlier.