Flydubai, GE unit sign $300m deal

Flydubai has signed a 10-year contract worth over $300 million (Dh1.10 billion) with GE Aviation for the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of its 109 engines. The budget carrier said Wednesday that it had signed an agreement at the Paris Air Show, representing an investment of $2 million per CFM56-7B engine that power flydubai's fleet of Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft. The carrier said that some engines will have more than one shop visit, putting the total value of the contract at more than $300 million. "Flydubai has one of the newest fleets in the industry and signing this agreement will ensure our engines continue to perform at peak levels," Gaith Al Gaith, CEO of flydubai, said in a statement. Flydubai operates 17 aircraft of the more than 50 Boeing 737s it has on order, with more expected to join the budget carrier's fleet this year. The news comes a day after Emirates said it would set up a $120 million engine repair and overhaul facility in Dubai in line with its growing fleet. The Dubai carrier signed a letter of intent with General Electric to oversee the design and construction of its in-house engine overhaul shop. The maintenance, repair and overhaul industry in the Middle East is expected to be worth an estimated $4.4 billion by 2019, according to industry data, owing to a surge in the fleets of the region's carriers. Commenting on the growing MRO business in Dubai and highlighting the future of MRO in the region, Addison Schonland, US-based aviation analyst and president of Innovation Analysis Group (IAG), told Gulf News: "EA [Engine Alliance] and GE are happy to have an MRO in the area to support their growing fleet at Emirates. I think the MRO in Dubai is a great move. The location is perfect and there is a natural source of work locally." Meanwhile, two years into its operations, flydubai is targeting 2012 to announce its first annual profit, and expects to have 21 aircraft [by the end of 2012] in the fleet, Gaith Al Gaith said recently. Kuwait's budget carrier Jazeera Airways said yesterday it has extended its existing 10-year Total Engine Support contract with MRO provider Lufthansa Technik for an additional two years. The extension for the agreement, comprising 13 CFM56-5B engines of the six Airbus A320 airplanes of Jazeera Airways' fleet, was announced at the Paris Air Show Wednesday. From / Gulf News