Etihad Airways has expanded its cooperation with Air France-KLM through a component maintenance agreement for its Boeing 777 fleet.

The precise value of the 10-year deal was not given, although Etihad said it was worth several hundred million dollars and would start February 2016.

It will give Etihad and its equity partners access to a global pool of components offered by Air France-KLM’s maintenance arm, Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M), through the 777 Component Services Program jointly operated with Boeing.

Etihad currently operates a fleet of 33 LR and ER variants of the passenger and freighter versions of the 777.

The agreement is a development of a deal done between Etihad and Air France-KLM in October 2012. This involves codesharing on flights across their networks over their respective hubs in Abu Dhabi, Paris and Amsterdam.

“Through this latest phase in our relationship with Air France-KLM, we are confident Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance will provide easy, quick, reliable and cost-effective access to components for our triple seven aircraft which are the backbone of our rapidly growing fleet,” Etihad SVP-technical Jeff Wilkinson said.

The agreement will provide Etihad with a significant upgrade of its service offering. Through its global MRO network, AFI KLM E&M will maintain pool stock in the United Arab Emirates and around the world to support Etihad’s 777s.

The partnership includes a framework for further collaboration with Etihad’s partners and a tie-up with Etihad Airways Engineering for additional maintenance services.

Source:  atwonline.com
Photo: aircraftit.com