SOUTH AFRICAN Airways' strategic partner, SAir, is to be partly responsible for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of the national carrier's aircraft engines under a contract awarded to one of its subsidiaries, Snecma Sabena Engine Services (SSES).
The Brussels-based aviation company has been awarded a US$ 300million 10-year contract to carry out this work. SSES is a joint venture established in May last year between Sabena Technics and the Snecma Group, a group of companies owned by SAir, which has a 20% stake in SAA with an option to acquire a further 10% by the end of this year.
SAA has chosen a power-by-the-hour contract which means that a fixed fee which covers all maintenance costs will be paid per flight hour of engines.
The contract is reported to be the largest yet signed by SSES and the former Sabena Technics workshops and took 12 months of negotiations to the point of acceptance. SSES recently signed a contract with Virgin Express for maintenance of its 42 engines.
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