AirBorneo, Pratt & Whitney Canada seal the cooperation of MRO

SINGAPORE, Sept. 24: Pratt & Whitney Canada signs a four-year agreement with AirBorneo Airways to provide maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services for the PW127M engines used by the airline's ATR 72-500 aircraft until 2030.

The agreement includes the comprehensive maintenance of engines used by AirBorneo for outdoor air service operations, in particular connecting rural communities in Sarawak and Sabah.

Pratt & Whitney Canada's Vice President of Customer Service, Anthony Rossi, said the maintenance solution was developed in conjunction with AirBorneo to help manage engine costs, as well as ensuring a high level of operational availability.

"We are working closely with AirBorneo to develop maintenance solutions that manage engine costs and support high operational availability for these critical flights", he said in a statement, today.

He said the agreement also reinforces Pratt & Whitney Canada's commitment to expanding MRO services as well as meeting growing customer needs.

Meanwhile, AirBorneo Chief Executive Megat Ardian Aminuddin said the ongoing cooperation with Pratt & Whitney Canada gives the company confidence in the quality and reliability of the products and services provided.

"With this support based in Singapore, our engine maintenance and repair is closer to the operating area, thus allowing aircraft to return to operation faster", he said.

He said the support provided operational certainty to AirBorneo to continue its flights on intra-Borneo routes, especially for inland communities that depend on air transport.

Most of the maintenance work for AirBorneo's engines will be carried out at Pratt & Whitney Canada's Singapore facility, which serves as the company's customer support hub for the Asia Pacific region.

The facility was recently expanded through investment to increase the MRO capacity of turboprop engines, thus strengthening support for aircraft operators in the region.

The PW127M engine is part of the Pratt & Whitney Canada family of PW100 engines that have been used in regional turboprop aircraft operations for over 40 years.

The series of engines have logged over 200 million hours of flight time and are used to propel aircraft that provide services to communities around the world. - TVS