Paris, Amstelveen, 23 September 2009 – Virgin Atlantic Ltd has extended its contract for heavy airframe maintenance on its B747-400 passenger jets. With the first agreement signed with Air France Industries and KLM Engineering & Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M) in July 2008 due to expire on 31 December 2010, the UK carrier decided to extend the contract for a further year.
The contract covers Boeing 747-400 heavy maintenance. Nine major overhauls (C and D checks) are already scheduled for 2011 at AFI KLM E&M facilities at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands.
Virgin Atlantic and AFI KLM E&M have a long-standing commercial relationship. Since the mid-1990s, the MRO has been supplying a range of maintenance services for the fleet of the UK’s second-largest carrier, and its B747-400s in particular.
Philip Maher, Director of Engineering at Virgin Atlantic Ltd said: “I trust we can continue to build on the strong relationship we have established and continue to work together to achieve our mutual goals the coming years.”
“This contract extension echoes last December’s renewal of the component maintenance contract signed by our two companies,” said Peter de Swert, KLM E&M Executive Vice President. “It offers further proof of Virgin Atlantic’s continually renewed trust in the combined AFI KLM E&M organization.”
About Virgin Atlantic
Since it was founded in 1984, Virgin Atlantic has become Britain’s second largest carrier serving the world’s major cities. Now based at both London’s Gatwick and Heathrow airports, it operates long haul services to 30 destinations world-wide as far apart as Las Vegas, Sydney and Shanghai. Virgin Atlantic currently has a fleet of 38 aircraft which includes thirteen 747s and six A340-300s and nineteen A340-600s.
About AFI KLM E&M
Air France Industries and KLM Engineering & Maintenance, which joined forces following the Air France KLM merger, are world-leading multi-product MRO (Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul) providers with a joint workforce of 14,000, offering comprehensive repair capability, integration expertise, component pool operational support and a powerful logistics network. Together they support more than 1230 aircraft and serve upwards of 150 major international airlines.
