Iberia Maintenance Prepares to Enter Energy Sector

Iberia Maintenance has earned a license to perform the inspection and repair services on GG8 turbines used in power generation. The certification obtained from Pratt & Whitney makes Iberia’s maintenance and engineering division the sole firm in Europe authorised to maintain such industrial turbines. It represents the division’s first departure from the aviation business and a major advance in its diversification process.

The GG8 is based on the JT8D aircraft engine that is made by Pratt & Whitney and used to power MD80-type aircraft, which Iberia has repaired since the late 1980s. The GG8 turbine generates gases that drive another turbine to generate electricity in Pratt & Whitney’s FT8 power plants. More than 500 FT8 units have been sold around the world, of which 150 are installed in Europe.

“We need a partner that lends support to our European clients,” said Stephen Kopf, customer service manager of Pratt & Whitney Power Systems (PWPS). “Both Iberia and PWPS are investing in this solution with the aim of providing better service to our customers,” he added.

The head of Iberia’s maintenance and engineering division, José Luiz Ruiz de Castañeda, said “We are very happy to have signed this agreement with PWPS. We want to give users of FT8 units the benefit of the knowledge and technical capabilities arising from our experience with JT8D engines. We hope that our future FT8 customers are as satisfied with our maintenance services as are our aviation industry customers,” he said.

The inspection, repair and parts replacements task on GG8 turbines will take place at the Iberia Maintenance engine workshops in Madrid starting at the end of 2012. The GG8 license will enable Iberia to export its expertise and experience in the aviation sector to electric power companies.

Pratt & Whitney is a leader in the design, manufacture, and maintenance of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems, and industrial gas turbines. Based in Hartford, Connecticut, it has 36,000 employees and more than 11,000 customers in 195 countries.

Iberia Maintenance is in charge of inspections and repair of airframes, aircraft engines, and parts for Iberia and about 100 outside clients around the World. It is Spain’s largest aircraft maintenance operator by sales and number of staff, and in the repair, high technology, and modification of aircraft. With nearly 4,000 employees, it ranks ninth in the world amongst aircraft maintenance firms, and in 2011 it inspected more than 200 aircraft engines and more than 66,000 parts.

About Iberia: Iberia is Spain's largest air transportation group and Europe's fourth-largest. Iberia is market leader on routes between Europe and Latin America, with the largest offer of destinations and frequencies. Together with its subsidiary airline Iberia Express and its franchise partner Iberia Regional/Air Nostrum, it operates about 700 flights with a fleet of 149 aircraft to 102 destinations in 42 countries. The Iberia Group carried more than 24 million passengers last year. Iberia is a member of the oneworld alliance that offers more than 8,400 daily flights to about 680 destinations in 134 countries. For more information, please visit http://grupo.iberia.es