At an official ceremony, Virgin Atlantic (VAA) has signed an agreement with Lufthansa Technik (LHT) to provide its aircraft maintenance services during the next eight years marking a commitment of more than $100m over the term of the contract.
This new long term contract is a significant extension to an existing agreement to additionally cover Boeing 747-400 C-checks, A340 base maintenance and CF6-80 and Trent 500 thrust reverser services for the airline's B747-400 and A340 fleet based at Gatwick and Heathrow airport.
Steve Griffiths, Chief Operating Officer, Virgin Atlantic said, "Combining the services within one contract will provide significant synergies and efficiencies for both partners. We're delighted to welcome the team to our hangar today to further build on this important and successful relationship and we look forward to working with LHT during the coming years."
August Wilhelm Henningsen, commented: "Lufthansa Technik's global network will continue to support Virgin Atlantic with all necessary maintenance, repair and overhaul services. This creates the sound technical base which is premise for the airline to focus on its successful key business - flying."
The Boeing 747-400 C-checks will be performed at Lufthansa Technik Maintenance International in Frankfurt, whilst the repair and overhaul services for the thrust reversers will be carried out at the airframe related component (ARC®) business unit of Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg.
Additionally, the two companies have agreed to the early extension of the current five-year base maintenance contract for the airline's Airbus A340 fleet by a further six years through to 2019. The base maintenance services are carried out at Lufthansa Technik Philippines.
Phil Maher, Director of Engineering at Virgin Atlantic said, "Virgin Atlantic has previously worked with Lufthansa Technik on a number of MRO services. With the success of the A340 Airframe Maintenance services agreement strong collaborative working relationships and delivery of product and quality have been established. This has formed the foundation of this extended agreement to also include further services within the LHT Group."
Lufthansa Technik
With over 30 subsidiaries and affiliated companies and more than 26,000 staff worldwide, the Lufthansa Technik Group is one of the world's leading independent providers of aircraft-related technical services. Lufthansa Technik's portfolio covers the entire service spectrum of maintenance, repair, overhaul, modification and conversion, engines and components for passenger aircraft.
