SkyJetJockey
17th Jan 2006, 03:57
Qantas in Swiss deal for Airbus services
By Scott Rochfort SMH
January 17, 2006
QANTAS has outlined plans to form a joint venture with a former Swissair maintenance subsidiary to provide "component management services" for itself and other carriers set to receive the giant Airbus A380.
But Qantas said the venture with the Zurich-based SR Technics should not be seen as a sign it could also outsource the heavy maintenance of its existing long-haul aircraft to the new entity.
"Don't read anything into this. We are still working on a review of our heavy maintenance operations," said Qantas's head of engineering, David Cox.
The airline expects to decide next month whether to send heavy maintenance overseas and possibly sack thousands of Australian workers.
Mr Cox stressed that the supply of components and parts for its fleet of 12 yet-to-be-delivered A380s was a different issue.
"This is a very different part of the business. This is about components and capital purchases," he said.
"Heavy maintenance is more about labour and efficiencies."
However, Mr Cox conceded Qantas could go to SR Technics if it decided to outsource its maintenance.
"SR Technics is in that business and we would obviously talk to them if we go down that path," he said.
It is expected the Qantas-SR Technics venture will attempt to supply parts to other Asia-Pacific airlines which have ordered A380s, such as Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways and Malaysia Airlines.
"We have had exploratory talks with several airlines. What we can do now is firm them up," Mr Cox said.
He said it was logical for Qantas and other airlines to outsource the management of components on their A380s, given the relatively small number of the giant aircraft they each had in their fleets.
Mr Cox said a decision on where to send the heavy maintenance of Qantas's A380s was still "a year or two away". However, he said, it was likely Qantas would team up with other airlines to form a jointly owned A380 maintenance base.
"We would seek partners in every facet of the maintenance if we could," he said.
Mr Cox said this was nothing new for an airline which had only a few examples of a certain aircraft in its fleet. He said Qantas initially had its 747s serviced by United Airways in the 1970s before bringing the heavy maintenance to Australia when it had more jumbos - and critical mass - in its fleet.
The first Qantas A380 is expected to enter service in April 2007. Singapore Air is expected to start flying the aircraft between Sydney and London by Christmas.
Qantas and SR Technics are yet to announce where they will locate their A380 parts facility. SR Technics has several facilities spread over Europe and in November signed a deal with the Chinese carrier, Okay Airways, to set up a maintenance facility in Tianjin, China.
By Scott Rochfort SMH
January 17, 2006
QANTAS has outlined plans to form a joint venture with a former Swissair maintenance subsidiary to provide "component management services" for itself and other carriers set to receive the giant Airbus A380.
But Qantas said the venture with the Zurich-based SR Technics should not be seen as a sign it could also outsource the heavy maintenance of its existing long-haul aircraft to the new entity.
"Don't read anything into this. We are still working on a review of our heavy maintenance operations," said Qantas's head of engineering, David Cox.
The airline expects to decide next month whether to send heavy maintenance overseas and possibly sack thousands of Australian workers.
Mr Cox stressed that the supply of components and parts for its fleet of 12 yet-to-be-delivered A380s was a different issue.
"This is a very different part of the business. This is about components and capital purchases," he said.
"Heavy maintenance is more about labour and efficiencies."
However, Mr Cox conceded Qantas could go to SR Technics if it decided to outsource its maintenance.
"SR Technics is in that business and we would obviously talk to them if we go down that path," he said.
It is expected the Qantas-SR Technics venture will attempt to supply parts to other Asia-Pacific airlines which have ordered A380s, such as Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways and Malaysia Airlines.
"We have had exploratory talks with several airlines. What we can do now is firm them up," Mr Cox said.
He said it was logical for Qantas and other airlines to outsource the management of components on their A380s, given the relatively small number of the giant aircraft they each had in their fleets.
Mr Cox said a decision on where to send the heavy maintenance of Qantas's A380s was still "a year or two away". However, he said, it was likely Qantas would team up with other airlines to form a jointly owned A380 maintenance base.
"We would seek partners in every facet of the maintenance if we could," he said.
Mr Cox said this was nothing new for an airline which had only a few examples of a certain aircraft in its fleet. He said Qantas initially had its 747s serviced by United Airways in the 1970s before bringing the heavy maintenance to Australia when it had more jumbos - and critical mass - in its fleet.
The first Qantas A380 is expected to enter service in April 2007. Singapore Air is expected to start flying the aircraft between Sydney and London by Christmas.
Qantas and SR Technics are yet to announce where they will locate their A380 parts facility. SR Technics has several facilities spread over Europe and in November signed a deal with the Chinese carrier, Okay Airways, to set up a maintenance facility in Tianjin, China.