Air India aims to become global MRO player

State-owned Air India has inked an agreement with GE Aviation, a unit of General Electric Co, to set up a $90 million facility to maintain aircraft engines.

GE Aviation will meet $20 million of the cost and rest will be invested by Air India.

Under GE Branded Services Agreement (GBSA), GE Aviation will provide technical support while Air India will offer maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services for the GEnx-1B engine. The facility is expected to come up in Mumbai.

Under the pact, Air India will have the licence to perform MRO work on the engine. GE will provide Air India with assistance on overhaul workscoping and component repair licences, comprehensive material support and training.

The GEnx engine will power Boeing 787 aircraft. Air India has 27 GEnx-1B powered 787 aircraft on order. Nalin Jain, country director, GE Aviation, said this was GE’s second MRO facility in the world.

The facility, along with catering to all wide-bodied aircraft of Air India, will also carry out third party work for customers across the globe.

Arvind Jadhav, chairman and managing director of Air India, said the move would give a push to his airline’s plan to become a global player in MRO services. He estimated the engineering work carried at Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Hyderabad would generate revenues of Rs 3,000-4,000 crore in the next 2-3 years.

“Air India envisages a state-of-the-art facility catering to GE 90 and GEnx engines, including a new engine test facility. Our strong collaboration with GE will enhance the visibility of the facility across the globe and will result in India becoming one of the major engine MRO players,” he said.