UK parts specialist AJ Walter Aviation has won a components maintenance contract covering Monarch Airlines' Airbus A320/A321 fleet.

The Luton-based carrier's MRO arm Monarch Aircraft Engineering has signed a by-the-hour support deal with AJW. The subcontracting arrangement is effective this month.

While it is phasing out other types, Monarch is reducing the A320/A321 fleet to 34 aircraft as it changes its business model from a leisure operator's to that of a European budget airline.

As part of the restructuring plan, Monarch has ordered 30 Boeing 737 Max 8 twinjets as replacements for the existing narrowbody fleet from 2018.

Monarch Aircraft Engineering has used AJW for ad-hoc component requirements for "many years", says the MRO provider's chief executive Ian Bartholomew.

Extending that co-operation to regular component repairs and spare-part supplies for equipment that cannot be serviced in Monarch's own facilities will create savings, he adds.

Source: Cirium Dashboard