US MRO provider AAR has signed an agreement to provide component support services to newly-revived Kuwait carrier Wataniya Airways, AAR announces on 26 June.
Wataniya ceased operations in 2011 amid financial troubles, but news broke 18 June that Kuwait's Directorate General of Civil Aviation granted the company an air operator's certificate.
In a media release, AAR president of international supply chain Deepak Sharma says the new MRO agreement prepares Wataniya to execute an expansion plan that calls for the carrier to serve "more than 30 destinations in the first two years of operation".
The deal calls for AAR, based in Wood Dale, Illinois, to provide power-by-the-hour component support to Wataniya's fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft.
The MRO company will provide parts to the carrier from facilities in Kuwait, Dubai and Europe, AAR says.
The deal marks further international expansion for AAR. The company in February announced it had opened a parts warehouse in Dubai.
In April, AAR announced plans to purchase the parts inventory of ACLAS Global and to support more than 100 aircraft operated by subsidiaries of ACLAS parent, Dublin-based ASL Aviation Holdings.
AAR has signed recent MRO deals with VivaColombia, Viva Air Peru, India's IndiGo, Flydubai, Iceland's Bluebird Cargo, Air New Zealand and other carriers.
Wataniya intends to launch flights to 16 destinations, including those in Bahrain, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, according to the carrier's website.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
