Lufthansa Technik supports South African owned carrier Comair Limited
with comprehensive technical services and integrated fleet
management. Operations at the first two local line maintenance
stations of the MRO company have already begun.
Comair has contracted Lufthansa Technik to provide Total Technical
Support (TTS®) for its Boeing 737 fleet. The agreement includes
integrated fleet management, known as Technical Operations Management
(TOM), engineering services, the provision of consumables and
expendables, integrated component delivery as part of Total Component
Support (TCS®) and the establishment of local line maintenance
stations.
The first two such stations providing comprehensive line maintenance
services have been set up in Johannesburg (up to A-checks in an own
maintenance hangar) and Cape Town (up to weekly checks). Full
technical support for the first Boeing 737-800 of Comair started in
the middle of May 2019.
"We have worked with Lufthansa Technik before and had very good
experiences with the work they do. The benefits we will see for our
fleet and flight operations are more efficient maintenance processes,
with our aircraft spending less time on ground," comments Erik
Venter, Chief Executive Officer of Comair. "This partnership is an
important component of Comair's ongoing fleet upgrade strategy.
Comair already operates South Africa's most modern and efficient
fleet, and our partnership with Lufthansa Technik will enhance that
position to the benefit of our customers, investors and other
stakeholders."
Local line maintenance stations established
On 22 May 2019, the first two local facilities of Lufthansa Technik
Maintenance International in South Africa were officially opened.
Ulrich Hollerbach, CEO of Lufthansa Technik Maintenance
International, commented: "We have a lot of experience in setting up
maintenance stations in different regions of the world, but South
Africa is something special for us. It's a much bigger project than
most, since we had to construct the entire organization literally
from the ground up."
45 local mechanics, avionic technicians and managers are already
working at the new stations - with more to follow this year. By the
end of 2020, Lufthansa Technik will be servicing the entire Comair
fleet and will have set up various line maintenance stations with up
to 120 local employees.
Commitment to Southern Africa
The partnership with Comair is a big step for Lufthansa Technik.
"This is a first for us - providing technical services on this scale
in the region. We welcome the opportunity to establish an even
stronger presence in Southern Africa," said Markus Berberich, Head of
Fleet Services at Lufthansa Technik.