United Airlines confirms it is looking at establishing a joint venture with a third party for spinning off its US maintenance, repair and overhaul operations, but the carrier has not set a deadline to conclude a deal.
The Chicago-based carrier has been reviewing its MRO operations for the last several months, as it looks to increase internal efficiencies, as well as ways to expand externally, says United. The airline determined that to more efficiently expand the operations, it would have to find a partner that could invest in the business, it says.
The carrier declines to name any potential investors with which the airline has held talks, or how the company's MRO assets, including its San Francisco MRO hub facility, might be involved, saying it is "premature" to discuss them.
Finding a partner, she says, "is a lengthy process". No deadline to find a partner has been set, she adds.
What has been determined, she says, is the airline sees opportunities in MRO and wants to capitalise on them. "The MRO sector is growing and we want to be part of that growth."
The airline's MRO operation, which already performs work for other airlines, could be expanded to do more work for other carriers if it partners with an investor.
Source: Flight International
