Iberia Wins New Contract to Maintain Another 20 Engines

Iberia has signed a new exclusive contract with the Italian carriers Eurofly and Meridiana to maintain their CFM-56-5B engines at the Iberia Maintenance facilities in Madrid.

The five-year contracts call for the maintenance of 20 CFM-56-5B engines, as well as their components, used to power eight Airbus A-320s and two Airbus A-319s.

Meridiana was founded in 1963 to help develop the Costa Smeralda in Sardinia. Based in Olbia, it operates 62 flights to 30 destinations.

Eurofly is another Italian company with flights to 18 destinations, including Fuerteventura and Tenerife Sur in the Canary Islands.

Iberia Maintenance has broad experience in the maintenance of airframes, engines, and components. In addition to Iberia, it serves more than 100 clients around the world. In 2006 alone the unit inspected 971 aircraft, 134 engines, 45 auxiliary power units (APUs), and 53,988 components. Under the Iberia Group’s 2006-2008 strategic plan the maintenance division is striving to double its revenues from outside clients, especially through maintenance of engines, components, and other high added-value tasks. It is the world’s ninth-largest aircraft maintenance operator and the largest in southern Europe.

Today, Iberia is Spain’s leading airline and also leader on routes linking Europe with Latin America. It posted an operating income of about 5.4 billion euros, net earnings of 116.1 million euros and an Ebitdar of 790.5 million euros in 2006. It is also distinguished by its commitment to socially and environmentally responsible conduct. Along with its franchise partner Iberia Regional, Iberia operates some 1,000 flights each day to about 100 different destinations. Last year, Iberia carried a total of 33 million passengers. It is a member of the oneworld airline alliance, along with American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, JAL, LAN, Malev, Qantas and Royal Jordanian.