Lufthansa Technik and Oman Air, the national airline of the Sultanate of Oman, plan to form a joint venture to provide technical support for the airline’s modern and growing fleet and for other customers in the region.

A Letter of Intent (LoI) to this effect was signed by the partners at the Dubai Airshow on 16 November in Dubai.

A new hangar is to be built at the International Airport of Muscat, which is in the middle of a modernization and expansion program to deal with the increase in the number of tourists coming to Oman. From 2012, it will be possible for up to two widebody and two narrowbody aircraft to be handled in the hangar which is to be jointly built by the partners.

Here, over 300 technicians and mechanics will offer aircraft maintenance through to light C-checks for Airbus A330, Boeing 737 NG, ATR 42 and other fleet type belonging to Oman Air and other customers.

Peter Hill, Oman Air CEO stated that his growing airline is very pleased to be associated with a high quality service provider in the MRO business such as Lufthansa Technik and he sees more mutual beneficial opportunities in the field of Engineering and Maintenance. He added, “with fleet and network growth, this cooperation will ensure Oman Air continues to raise and maintain it’s legendary on time performance and high product standards throughout its fleet and routes.”

“With this strategic partnership between Oman Air and Lufthansa Technik, we are strengthening a well-established cooperative relationship. In the future we will be able to offer technical services directly in Oman to customers in a region that is one of the growth markets of international aviation,” said August Wilhelm Henningsen, Chairman of the Executive Board of Lufthansa Technik AG, at the signing ceremony.

Oman Air is also backing Lufthansa Technik when it comes to the maintenance of its Boeing 737 NG fleet. On the basis of an intended new contract, from January 2010 a total of 15 C-checks will be carried out for Lufthansa Technik’s new partner in the Lufthansa Technik Group’s operations in Malta, Budapest and Sofia. The three maintenance facilities work to the latest standards and are able to offer minimal turnaround times at competitive prices.

In the summer of 2009 Oman Air had signed a seven-year Total Component Support TCS® contract with the Hamburg-based company to provide component support for its new Airbus A330 fleet. Accordingly, Lufthansa Technik has been providing support for the first of up to 15 A330’s in Oman Air’s new fleet since October. The contract covers a range of services from provisioning with components at the operational site to repairs, overhauls, documentation and engineering services.

Source: Press Release (Lufthansa Technik and Oman Air)