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China Southern Airlines and Lufthansa Technik signed an exclusive eight-year contract regarding the technical support for the auxiliary power units (APUs) of the Chinese carrier’s A350 fleet (20 aircraft). According to the long-term agreement, Lufthansa Technik will provide maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services for the Honeywell HGT1700 in the company’s specialized APU workshops in Hamburg, Germany.
Chosen as the maintenance partner by manufacturer Honeywell, Lufthansa Technik is the official warranty station. It has been approved to perform MRO services on this APU type, which is exclusively built for the Airbus A350. The new cooperation consists of an extensive MRO service portfolio, covering spare APU support and engineering services throughout the contract. Should the Guangzhou-based airline opt for additional A350s, the agreement would also cover them.
“With the flight experience in our numerous Airbus A350s, we satisfy thousands of customers every day,” said Wu Rongxin, Executive Vice President of China Southern Airlines. “As the largest airline in China, we want to guarantee our passengers the best operational conditions, and Lufthansa Technik has been instrumentally supporting us to achieve this goal. With a long history of collaboration spanning over more than a decade covering various products and services, we are confident in entrusting Lufthansa Technik with this long-term contract. We are pleased to extend our relationship with such a trustworthy partner.”
“This new collaboration represents the next milestone between China Southern Airlines and Lufthansa Technik, and we take great pride in being selected as the official certified partner providing the APU services,” said Dennis Kohr, Senior Vice President Corporate Sales Asia Pacific. “Auxiliary power units are complex technical assets. Having previously delivered exceptional services on engines and components has given China Southern Airlines the assurance that they can also rely on us in this field. We are delighted to further deepen our partnership with this exclusive long-term contract.”
This deal demonstrates the power Lufthansa Technik has developed and continues to build on. Their MRO capabilities are possibly the widest of anyone in this field. They seem to be able to service any part of any aircraft.
We have heard several times that Technik has some influence over Lufthansa’s fleet choices. For example, the airline has GTF, LEAP, CFM56, and V2500 engines on Airbus A320 family models. For most other airlines, this would not be the way to go; simplicity means lower costs. But if Lufthansa Technik supports your fleet, then does it matter? As you’d expect, people within the airline’s fleet decision chain deny this.
In-house or across-the-apron access means Lufthansa Technik has been able to tap into Lufthansa’s fleet to learn. Its deep knowledge base is then marketed globally and successfully. A winning combination that delivers deals like this one with China Southern.
