Belgrade-based maintenance provider Jat Tehnika plans to extend its support capabilities to include Airbus A320 family aircraft.
The first phase will be to offer airframe maintenance for the European narrowbody from the middle of next year, Jat Tehnika head of marketing and sales Radoslav Ilic told Flightglobal.
Between €1 million ($1.3 million) and €1.5 million will be invested in training and equipment to accommodate the type, he added.
The Serbian company currently supports Boeing 737s - all versions from the first-generation -200 to the current production series - up to D-check level and ATR 42s and 72s up to C-check level.
In a second phase, the company plans to extend its engine overhaul capabilities from the CFM International CFM56-3 series to the -5A/B and -7B series in 2013.
Ilic said that the overhaul shop currently services approximately 60 CFM56-3 series engines a year. He expects this number to remain stable, with the later CFM56-5A/B and -7B versions gradually replacing the earlier models.
The decision to introduce A320s was driven by the type's fleet size in the region and not by Jat Airways' pending order for eight A319s, he said.
Jat Tehnika has operated as a standalone sister company of Jat Airways since 2006.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
