AFI KLM E&M has signed a component support agreement with AirAsia for the airline’s fleet of Airbus A320neo passenger jets, ultimately scheduled to number 304 aircraft. AirAsia took delivery of its first A320neo on 7 September this year in Hamburg.
Signed in the presence of AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes and Air France CEO Franck Terner, the contract between the two groups includes component repair services and solutions designed to maximise aircraft availability, such as the provision of a local main base kit at AirAsia’s Kuala Lumpur facility.
At the signing ceremony held in Sepang, Malaysia, AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said: “Operating a new-generation aircraft at such a large scale requires adaptive, world-class support, and we have the utmost confidence that AFI KLM E&M will be able to provide us with the responsiveness, reliability and performance needed.”
AirAsia has already had an opportunity to test the effectiveness of the MRO solutions delivered by AFI KLM E&M, which currently provides component support for the fleet of A330s operated by AirAsia X, the AirAsia’s budget long-haul subsidiary. The initial agreement was signed in 2009 and then extended in 2013.
Anne Brachet, EVP AIR FRANCE KLM Engineering & Maintenance, said: “Following the fruitful partnership with AirAsia X, we are proud to welcome its parent airline, AirAsia, to our client portfolio and will strive to develop the same kind of trust-based partner relationship with it.”