German maintenance and repair organisation Lufthansa Technik is to acquire a 50% shareholding in Qantas Airways’ engine overhaul division Jet Turbine Services.
Lufthansa Technik’s acquisition, the details and terms of which have yet to be disclosed, will create a powerplant engineering joint venture in Australia.
The German company is also to service the Qantas fleet’s General Electric CF6 and CFM International CFM56 engines under a 10-year agreement.
Jet Turbine Services’ facilities are located in Tullamarine, near Melbourne Airport, and maintenance of CF6 and CFM56 turbofans is its main line of business.
It emerged from the former Ansett engine maintenance operation and became a joint venture between Qantas and infrastructure firm Patrick Corporation, before being wholly acquired by Qantas in 2006. The company employs 140 personnel.
Tying up with Lufthansa Technik will give Qantas’ engineering unit access to the German firm’s worldwide customer network.
“The partnership is in line with Qantas’ strategy of continuing investment in Australia when we can achieve the right combination of labour flexibility, productivity and capability,” says Qantas chief Geoff Dixon, adding that the deal will expand Jet Turbine Services’ opportunities and technical capabilities.
Qantas has a separate engine overhaul centre located in Sydney which handles Rolls-Royce powerplants.
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Lufthansa Technik’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region already includes the Chinese ventures Ameco Beijing and LHT Shenzhen, plus LHT Philippines and its Malaysian fan-blade repair operation Airfoil Services. It is also establishing an Indian facility at Hyderabad to handle third-party airframe maintenance.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
Source: FlightGlobal.com
