Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE
Philippine Airlines (PAL) has transferred its maintenance and engineering unit to the German-Philippine joint venture Lufthansa Technik Philippines (LTP). LTP is 49%-owned by MacroAsia, with the rest held by Lufthansa Technik.
The sale covers PAL's 226,000m² (2.4 million ft²) maintenance facility in Manila and a smaller one in Cebu. A concomitant agreement makes LTP the sole provider of aircraft-related technical services to PAL's 31-aircraft fleet for the next 10 years.
LTP plans to invest $200 million (including its purchase price) over five years with the aim of becoming a regional maintenance repair and overhaul hub. The 1,400 staff inherited by the new concern will be kept on or offered posts at the airline.
LTP and MacroAsia chairman Washington Sycip says the new business will have annual sales of $125 million, 70% from exports. Domestic carrier Air Philippines, which operates a fleet based on several Boeing 737s has already signed a letter of intent for maintenance work.
Meanwhile, Philippines Airlines, which flirted with bankruptcy two years ago, says a record April profit is proof that its 44.2 million pesos ($1 million) earnings for its 1999-2000 financial year was "no fluke".
• Singapore Airlines' maintenance branch, SIA Engineering, has completed its $8 million purchase of a 40% stake in Messier Services Asia (MSA), a Singapore-based landing gear specialist. MSA was previously wholly owned by Messier-Dowty/Messier-Bugatti subsidiary Messier Services. SIA Engineering and MSA have also signed a 10-year agreement covering landing gear repair and overhaul.
MSA is understood to be the only company in the Asia-Pacific region which is able to undertake landing gear overhauls on Airbus A330/A340s and Boeing 777s.
Source: Flight International
