KOTA KINABALU: Malaysia Airlines regional sister company, MASwings, entrusted its ATR72-500 fleet to Air France Industries (AFI) KLM Engineering & Maintenance for component support.
Maintenance for 10 MASwings aircraft would be handled at the Singapore Service Center and in the new Singapore Component Solutions shop, opened in February 2018 by AFI KLM E&M.
This followed key performance indicators (KPIs) set by the Ministry of Transport on MASwings’ performance in delivering its services, after it was given the mandate to continue serving rural air services under the new Public Service Obligation (PSO) Agreement for Rural Air Services, effective January 2019 till December 31, 2024.
MASwings chief executive officer (CEO) Aminuddin Zakaria said the signing of power-by-the-hour agreement between MASwings and Societe Air France on ATR component support programme was for a five-year-term, effective May 8, 2019 to May 7, 2024.
“Among KPIs set by the government on MASwings include on time performance (OTP), cancellation rate and consumer satisfaction score, which would be conducted by an external surveyor.
“Hence, MASwings is gear headed to ensure its operations within Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan meet the expectations of the government and the people at large.
“This agreement signing becomes very crucial and important to MASwings operations as we are now working closely and engaging with experts on ATR component support programme within this region, in providing a one-stop centre for our fleet of ATR 72-500 aircraft.
“Without a doubt, through this agreement, we are confident it would enhance the reliability record of our aircraft even further,” he said.
Aminuddin added on-site spares would always be available to support the operations and avoiding aircraft on the ground situation, adding that this effort would ensure that MASwings always gets the latest standard component as all repairs and modifications would be undertaken solely by AFI-KLM.
In addition, Aminuddin said the agreement could pave the way for Sabah in its plan to become an aviation hub, by supporting the ecosystem of with the Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP) as the main enabler towards this project.
“It has been forecasted that such future plans will invite investment to the State and employment opportunities to the locals.
“We truly hope with today’s agreement signing and interaction with subject matter experts such as AFI-KLM, it would pave the way for the project to move on to the next step,” he said.
The agreement signing was witnessed by Deputy Chief Minister cum Minister of Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred Madius Tangau.
Also present were AFI-KLM E&M delegates, headed by VP Sales Asia Pacific Dominik Wiener Silva, Asia Pacific Account Sales Manager Seamus Mc Mahon, Singapore Component Solutions CEO Jacques Montmayeur and Singapore Service Centre general manager Philippe Garnier.
[Source: “Air France Industries, Enginnering to handle maintenace for MASwings aircraft” published by BorneoPost Online]
