Rolls-Royce has signed a 10-year, $360 million contract to support RB211-535E4B engines powering Continental Airlines' fleet of 41 Boeing 757s. The contract provides maintenance at a set cost per flight hour. Northwest Airlines has opened a $45 million maintenance and cargo site at its Seattle-Tacoma hub. The 14,030m2 (151,000ft2) maintenance hangar and 5,100m2 cargo site was completed in 13 months and can accommodate simultaneously a Boeing 747 and McDonnell Douglas DC-10 sized aircraft. The cargo side can handle more than 84kg million (185lb million) of freight a year, three times the capacity of the previous site. All Nippon Airways has contracted Boeing Airplane Services to perform its fifth 747-200 passenger-to-freighter conversion.
Source: Flight International
