Mexico's VivaAerobus has signed a five-year power-by-the-hour component maintenance contract with AJ Walter Aviation for its Boeing 737-300 fleet.

The budget airline operates 15 of the twin-jets but plans to grow this number to "at least" 30 by 2013, according to the UK-based parts distributer.

VivaAerobus is a joint venture between Mexico's IAMSA ground transportation company (51%) and Irelandia (49%), the investment fund of the Ryan family, who founded Ryanair.

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news