Airlines Lufthansa Technik and JAL sign service agreement for A350 fleet

This agreement is a further expansion of the already existing partnership between Lufthansa Technik and JAL. The long-term agreement includes the Total Component Support (TCS) services for the carriers´ A350 fleet over the coming 10 years.

Included in the TCS package are services like maintenance, programs for reliability monitoring and enhancement, as well as logistics services. This will help JAL to get started with their A350 fleet. It will be the first newer Airbus aircraft to fly for the carrier. In the history, JAL already operated a fleet of 22 A300 aircraft.

Atsushi Maeda, Executive Officer of Procurement at Japan Airlines, said: "The Airbus A350 constitutes a key element of the future Japan Airlines fleet. We believe this agreement will bring us even more stable and smooth component operations and the highest performance for our customers. Furthermore, it provides us additional benefits such as maintenance cost optimization and cost control, while enhancing the long term partnership with Lufthansa Technik."

Since 2011, Lufthansa Technik provides MRO services for JAL´s 40 aircraft strong Boeing 787 fleet.

Gerald Steinhoff, Vice President Corporate Sales Asia Pacific at Lufthansa Technik, added: "We are very proud and honoured to extend our services with comprehensive MRO solutions for Japan Airlines' Airbus A350 fleet. We will work very closely together as partners to ensure the highest safety and reliability."

Lufthansa Technik is the leader for A350 component services in Asia Pacific. The new agreement with JAL will ultimately lead to more A350 components being allocated in local warehouses.

For the A350 series, JAL currently holds 31 firm orders and 25 options. The 31 firm orders consist of 18 A350-900s and 13 A350-1000. This order was made public in October 2013 and was the first ever Airbus order by JAL.

It is being planned, that JAL will receive its first A350 this year. The state-of-the-art jet is set to replace ageing aircraft like the Boeing 767 or 777. JAL seeks to improve its long-haul business and to attract new customers.

JAL is the flag carrier airline of Japan and was established in 1951. The carrier has two main operational hubs at Tokyo-Haneda and Tokyo-Narita. It is member of the Oneworld alliance and operates subsidiary airlines like J-Air, Japan Air Commuter or Japan Transocean Air. Currently, the fleet consists of 50 Boeing 737s, 35 Boeing 767s, 40 Boeing 777s and 40 Boeing 787s.