MTU Maintenance signs exclusive CFM56-7 maintenance agreement with Solaseed Air from Japan

Zhuhai (China), 21 January 2015 – MTU Maintenance, one of the leading engine MRO providers worldwide, has signed an exclusive maintenance agreement with the Japanese low-cost carrier Solaseed Air which covers all 24 CFM56-7B and -7BE engines powering the airline’s fleet of 12 Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The contract will run for twelve years and has a value of about 200 million Euros (260 million US dollars ). In addition to engine maintenance, MTU Maintenance will provide Solaseed Air with spare engine and on-site support. The engines will be overhauled at MTU Maintenance’s Asian location in Zhuhai, China. For MTU Maintenance, this is the largest agreement from a Japanese customer since the company entered the Japanese market in 2010.

“We are very proud that we could extend our excellent cooperation with Solaseed Air,” said Frank Bodenhage, Managing Director at MTU Maintenance Zhuhai. “The fact that Solaseed Air is trusting us with another engine model, is a further sign that the excellent and reliable services provided by MTU Maintenance are well respected among our customers in Japan and the rest of Asia. We are confident that we will continue this road of success in the future as well.”

MTU Maintenance started cooperating with Solaseed Air in 2011 with a maintenance agreement for the airline’s CFM56-3 engines. “MTU Maintenance has proven a reliable and trustworthy partner which provides us with outstanding service quality, and we are happy to continue sending the company our latest generation engines for maintenance,” said Hiroshi Takahashi, CEO at Solaseed Air. “MTU Maintenance’s Total Engine Care program is also a great advantage for Solaseed Air as we could add additional services from a single source.” Solaseed Air, incorporated as Skynet Asia Airways Co. Ltd., was founded in 2002 and serves domestic destinations within Japan.

Within MTU Maintenance’s network of locations, MTU Maintenance Zhuhai specializes in the maintenance, repair and overhaul of CFM56 and V2500 engines. The location is a 50:50 joint venture between MTU Aero Engines and China’s largest airline China Southern Air Holding Company. MTU Maintenance Zhuhai is today the country’s market leader and among the top engine MRO providers in Asia. Due to its excellent reputation in the region and the continuously growing demand in the Asian market, the company has increased its shop visit capability by 50 percent from 200 to 300 per year in 2012.