Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering (Ameco), the Beijing-based joint venture between Air China and Lufthansa, is bidding for its first Boeing 747 passenger-to-freighter conversion contract. Talks are under way with the unnamed owner of a pair of 747-200 Combis which Ameco hopes to begin modifying by April, says company general manager Walter Heerdt. Work would be carried out in Beijing using a third party's supplemental type certificate (STC). However, a question mark hangs over the deal after the terrorist attacks in the USA on 11 September. Ameco has meanwhile received a US Federal Aviation Administration licence to perform Boeing 767 airframe maintenance. Air France Industries is to conduct five-year heavy maintenance checks on three Aero Lloyd Airbus A320s next year. The Air France subsidiary has also signed an agreement to support CFM International CFM56 engines powering Vietnam Airlines' fleet of A320s. TAM has awarded Pratt & Whitney Engine Services contracts exceeding $125 million to support PW4168 engines powering the Brazilian airline's five Airbus A330s, as well as the International Aero Engines V2500 turbofans on six of its A320s. Hainan Airlines Group has become the newest shareholder in GE Engine Services (Xiamen), which is based at Xiamen's Gaoqi International Airport. Asiana has signed a contract with Lufthansa Technik for its TCS (Total Component Support) for its Boeing 737 and Airbus A321 fleets. Alenia-owned conversion specialist Aeronavali has launched a campaign to place surplus McDonnell DouglasDC-10s with Chinese operators for use as freighters. Aeronavali commercial director Gianni Tritto declines to identify the aircraft on offer. However, FedEx has 26 ex-American and United Airlines short/medium-range DC-10-10s on its books which it now seems unlikely to require.
Source: Flight International
