Boeing has revealed that a decision to exclude line maintenance from the GoldCare support programme for the 787 was behind SR Technics' disengagement as an MRO partner.
Speaking at the Aviation Week MRO Europe event in London, Boeing's vice-president of fleet management Bob Avery said that SR Technics' original contract included line maintenance which, he added, accounts for the bulk of man-hours across the total maintenance spectrum.
When the airframer elected not to offer line maintenance as part of GoldCare, the programme started to differ from SR Technics' plans, adds Avery. Subsequently, SR Technics' contract was allowed to expire.
Avery stresses that there was no breach of the terms of the deal as a clause provided for its expiry in the event that no customers had signed up to use SR Technics as a GoldCare support provider. He admits: "Changes on our side caused them heartburn."
With Monarch Aircraft Engineering already enlisted to serve 787 customer TUI Travel, Boeing says it is in dialogue with other potential MRO partners in GoldCare.
SR Technics chief executive James Stewart declines to comment on his company's reasons for disengaging from GoldCare, but says that its owner Mubadala continues to discuss possible partnerships with OEMs.
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Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
