Lufthansa Technik AG and National Air Services (NAS) in Saudi Arabia are expanding their existing collaboration and have signed a ten-year cooperation agreement. On Wednesday the contract was subscribed by Sulaiman Al-Hamdan, CEO of NAS Group, and August Wilhelm Henningsen, Chairman of the Executive Board of Lufthansa Technik AG, during an official signing ceremony in Riyadh/ Saudi Arabia.
Lufthansa Technik will provide engine and component maintenance services for the entire NAS fleet. NAS Tech, the new maintenance subsidiary of NAS, will build up capabilities for line and light base maintenance of narrow body aircraft, especially for the Airbus A320 family. Lufthansa Technik will support the process with engineers and technical advisors. Once established, the service portfolio of NAS Tech will also be offered to local customers.
Commenting on the agreement and its significance, Sulaiman Al-Hamdan, said: "This agreement is the result of long-term negotiations between the two companies for more than one year, and we are proud and happy of this partnership with Lufthansa Technik admiring the ability of NAS to expand and absorb such advanced technology."
August Wilhelm Henningsen added: "Over the past years we have developed an intensive and trustful partnership with NAS. The new strategic agreement is a logical step to enhance the cooperation to the benefit of both companies. This long-term contract will establish state-of-the-art technical services in one of the most important growth markets of the region."
At its home airport, the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, NAS is currently investing to establish maintenance facilities, including a hangar and a maintenance workshop. It is intended that Lufthansa Technik will train NAS Tech maintenance staff to get technical expertise based on international license standards in the next years.
Lufthansa Technik and NAS originally signed a five-year contract for Total Component Support TCS for the NAS fleet in 2008. This fleet includes aircraft in the Airbus A320 family and also the Embraer 190/195, which are in service with NAS subsidiary NAS Air. In this way NAS was the launch customer for work on these Embraer aircraft types at Lufthansa Technik. The contract also covers services for several VIP and business jets.
About National Air Services (NAS):
National Air Services Group (NAS) was established in 1999 when the Netjets-Middle East Program (NJME) was introduced. In cooperation with Netjets USA, the program offers a fractional jet ownership with 16 aircraft currently in operation and 60 additional aircraft on order. Later on in 2001, Aircraft Management Services was established to provide customized management solutions for aircraft owners. It has signed management and operations contracts for more than 50 governments, corporate and private aircraft. In 2007, NAS started its commercial operations on domestic and international routes through nasair, the first low cost carrier in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. NAS' commercial fleet has currently 12 aircraft. In addition, orders were placed for 37 aircraft to join gradually until 2016.
About Lufthansa Technik:
The Lufthansa Technik Group, with more than 30 subsidiaries and about 26,000 employees worldwide, is one of the leading manufacturer-independent providers of services for the aviation industry. In 2009, the Group's overall revenues stood at 4 billion euros. Lufthansa Technik is licensed internationally as a repair, production and development enterprise. The Group's portfolio encompasses the entire spectrum of services in the areas of maintenance, repair, overhaul, modification and conversion, engines and components.
