EVENDALE, Ohio February 14, 2007 Indian Airlines, Ltd. and CFM International have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) proposing to establish a joint venture maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility in India for CFM56 engines.
CFM International is a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran Group) and General Electric Company.
This MoU defines the principles of a joint venture that will combine Indian Airlines experience in engine overhaul with that of CFM and its parent companies, to create a world-class maintenance and overhaul facility. The MRO shop will perform the full spectrum of services, from engine disassembly to piece parts and in-house component repairs for CFM56-5B and CFM56-7B engines.
"This is a landmark agreement that will benefit not just our fleet, but the aviation industry in India," said Dr Vishwapati Trivedi, chairman and managing director of Indian. "For Indian, it will mean significant savings, better engine turnaround time, and increased engine availability for operations."
"We are obviously very pleased with this agreement," said Eric Bachelet, president and CEO of CFM. "We are looking forward to becoming an integral part of the booming Indian aviation industry and to developing a long and fruitful relationship."
Indian Airlines, the government-owned flag-carrier of India, has ordered 43 CFM56-5B-powered Airbus A320 family aircraft and currently operates six A319s with the CFM56-5B engine. CFM is the world's leading supplier of commercial aircraft engines and there are more than 16,500 CFM56 engines in service with more than 460 operators around the world.