Air India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC) to explore a collaboration in Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) which will contribute to the development of India as a global aviation MRO hub. This follows Air India’s earlier collaborations with SIAEC to strengthen maintenance and component support for its growing fleet and network expansion:
Signing of a 12-year Inventory Technical Management (ITM) agreement with SIAEC for extensive component support coverage for Air India’s current fleet of Airbus A320 family aircraft on 21 February 2024;
Appointment of SIAEC as Air India’s Base Maintenance strategic partner for the development of the airline’s Base Maintenance facilities located in Bangalore on 11 May 2024.
The latest MOU aims to deepen the partnership between both parties by tapping on SIAEC’s MRO and technical expertise to bolster Air India’s established airline operations network by jointly developing a world-class MRO ecosystem in India. This collaboration could include the potential formation of an MRO Joint Venture in India, serving the increasing needs of the Indian and regional aviation markets.
Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Air India, said: “India’s rapid aviation growth is driving the need for a stronger, more self-reliant MRO ecosystem within the country. As fleet sizes expand and operations scale up, developing local maintenance capacity will be important to support efficiency, resilience and long-term growth. Partnerships such as this can play a constructive role in enabling that broader direction and developing India as a global aviation hub.”
Chin Yau Seng, Chief Executive Officer SIAEC, said: “India is one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets, and the continued development of its MRO capabilities will be an important step in strengthening its position within the global aerospace ecosystem. Through this MOU, we look forward to exploring how SIAEC’s technical expertise can support the progressive build-up of capabilities and capacity in India, alongside our ongoing partnership with Air India.”
Air India Cargo partners with cargo.one
Air India and cargo.one unveiled a partnership that brings the carrier’s capacity within direct digital booking channels for the first time. cargo.one’s freight forwarder users worldwide can now discover, quote and book Air India’s cargo services in seconds. The partnership reflects cargo.one’s role as the go-to AI technology partner for global carriers to effectively maximise their global sales reach and booking experience.
Air India has partnered with cargo.one amid a backdrop of significant investment, expansion and renewal, including having placed landmark orders for 600 new aircraft. As Air India invests in bringing more capacity to market, cargo.one strengthens the carrier’s development by facilitating a rapid and low capex route to wider market visibility and sales agility in all major cargo markets, as well as a raft of improved sales efficiencies. Having co-built the digital sales engines for 75 airlines globally, cargo.one enables Air India to expand and future-proof its global cargo sales footprint.
Ramesh Mamidala, Head of Cargo at Air India Cargo, commented, “As Air India continues its transformation journey, enhancing digital capabilities and customer experience remains a key focus for our cargo business. Our partnership with cargo.one expands the digital accessibility of Air India’s cargo network and capacity to freight forwarders worldwide, enabling faster, more seamless booking experiences and improving ease of doing business across markets. This collaboration will help us strengthen our commercial reach while offering customers greater convenience, agility and efficiency.”
Moritz Claussen, Founder & Co-CEO of cargo.one, added, “It is tremendously exciting to bring Air India Cargo’s significant capacity to our thriving global customer base. As forwarders apply agentic AI for optimized decision making, quoting and booking, it is imperative that carriers like Air India Cargo have their capacity fully integrated into these modern operating methods, particularly within large global forwarders who power their procurement and sales at scale with cargo.one.”
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