Rolls-Royce has signed an agreement with Thai Airways International to study how the carrier can be incorporated into its MRO network for the Trent engine.

Under the agreement, Thai's MRO arm, Thai Airways Technical will work towards becoming an Authorised Maintenance Centre (AMC) for R-R. Should a partnership come through, the engine manufacturer will assist Thai with the expansion of its Don Mueang MRO base, R-R tells FlightGlobal.

The Star Alliance carrier operates 58 Trent-engine powered widebodies from its fleet of 82 aircraft, shows Flight Fleets Analyzer. As an AMC for R-R, Thai can also offer MRO support to other third-party airlines in the region.

"Thai has the capability to expand its engine maintenance services for R-R Trent engines, which will meet the needs of the regional market, making sufficient use of the maintenance facilities and further develop a joint business venture together. This collaboration will also increase revenue earned from third-party customers,” adds Usanee Sangsingkeo, Thai's acting president.

“Collaborating on engine maintenance makes good business sense and provides the foundation for engineering skills development in alignment with the Thai government’s commitment to develop the aviation industry. We expect this increased capacity to be available as early as 2019,” says Chris Cholerton, R-R's president of its civil aerospace division.

Earlier this year, the duo also signed a deal to use Thai's engine testing facilities at Don Mueang airport to support the Trent XWB engine programme.

R-R adds that the maturity and cyclic testing on the powerplant carried out by Thai at the facility will "help to provide a fuller understanding of engine performance over a sustained period of operation".

Source: Cirium Dashboard

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