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Air Austral renews trust in AFI KLM E&M for 777 fleet support

After inking an agreement in February covering extended support for Air Austral’s 787s, AFI KLM E&M and the Réunion-based airline have closed a deal for full support for the carrier’s Boeing 777s, that are already receiving AFI KLM E&M support. The services lined by the contract include Airframe/Engineering maintenance, plus Engine, APU and Component services, in conjunction with extra support services for phase out/phase in operations. Component services support will be carried out under the joint AFI KLM E&M and Boeing 777 Component Services Program (CSP).

This new agreement confirms the privileged ties between the two airline groups, which over the years have forged a genuine partnership relationship within the airline maintenance sphere. AFI KLM E&M and Air Austral have worked along for near ten years, especially on support for the Réunion carrier’s 777s. Air Austral’s satisfaction in respect of the quality and competitiveness of the MRO services delivered within the past convinced it to renew its trust in AFI KLM E&M earlier this year with the support for its pair of recent 787s, and today, with support for its 777s.

Pierre Bosse, Air Austral’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “Our airline has relied on the performance and quality of the maintenance services provided by AFI KLM E&M for a number of years. For Air Austral, the ongoing relationship is the guarantee that we will continue to benefit from cutting-edge services to ensure the reliability and availability of our fleet.”

A special aspect of this multidimensional contract is that the inclusion of phase-in support for two brand new Boeing 777-300s and phase-out support for two 777s, to be retired from the Air Astral fleet in the first half of 2017. AFI KLM E&M can perform the work preparatory to re-delivery by the tip of 2016, along with the re-delivery shop visits for the four GE90 equipping the aircraft.

Fabrice Defrance, SVP Commercial AFI KLM E&M added: “We are delighted to retain the trust of a long-standing client like Air Austral. This latest contract confirms AFI KLM E&M’s ability to cover all an airline’s operational aircraft maintenance requirements.”