MRO & Manufacturing
AFI KLM E&M & Air Canada Forge 10-Year 787 Maintenance Deal
In an industry where operational reliability directly impacts profitability and customer satisfaction, strategic maintenance partnerships have become critical. The recent 10-year component support agreement between AFI KLM Engineering & Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M) and Air Canada for Boeing 787 Dreamliners exemplifies this trend. This collaboration not only supports Air Canada’s fleet expansion but also highlights evolving strategies in aviation maintenance to meet modern demands.
With Air Canada planning to grow its 787 fleet from 39 to 58 aircraft by 2029 – plus options for 12 more – the need for localized, efficient component support becomes paramount. The establishment of a dedicated parts pool in Toronto signals a shift toward proximity-based maintenance solutions, reducing downtime and improving cost efficiency. For AFI KLM E&M, this deal strengthens its North American presence amid growing competition in the MRO sector.
At the core of this agreement is the creation of a component pool at Toronto Pearson International Airport. This strategic stockpile of parts enables same-day access to critical components, potentially reducing aircraft ground time by up to 40% compared to traditional supply chains. For context, the average narrowbody aircraft generates $145,000 in daily revenue – making every hour of operational availability crucial.
The contract builds on a 15-year relationship that previously covered engines like the GE90 and CFM56. By expanding into 787 components, AFI KLM E&M will leverage its network of 40+ global repair stations to support Air Canada’s specific needs. This includes specialized support for the Dreamliner’s composite-heavy airframe and advanced electrical systems, which require unique maintenance protocols.
“This collaboration sets a new standard for industry partnerships,” said Mathieu Essenberg of AFI KLM E&M. “Our Toronto pool stock ensures Air Canada’s 787s spend more time generating revenue than waiting for parts.”
The aviation MRO market, valued at $86 billion in 2023, is seeing increased demand for integrated component support programs. Airlines are moving away from transactional repairs toward risk-sharing agreements where providers like AFI KLM E&M guarantee parts availability and repair turnaround times. This model aligns with Air Canada’s fleet modernization strategy, which has seen its average aircraft age drop to 10.2 years compared to 14.5 years industry-wide.
AFI KLM E&M’s parallel joint venture with AAR Corp for nacelle maintenance in Asia-Pacific demonstrates this global trend. Such partnerships allow MROs to offer localized services while maintaining global repair networks – a critical advantage as airlines like Air Canada expand international routes requiring worldwide support coverage.
Component support contracts now frequently include performance-based metrics. For example, AFI KLM E&M’s agreement likely includes availability guarantees exceeding 98% for critical components, with financial penalties for missed targets. This shifts risk to the MRO while giving airlines predictable maintenance costs – crucial for long-term fleet planning. Air Canada’s 787 expansion replaces older widebodies like the 767, offering 20% better fuel efficiency per seat. With the airline operating 169 aircraft as of Q1 2024, the Dreamliners will comprise 34% of its widebody fleet by 2029. The component agreement helps protect this investment – Boeing estimates that optimized maintenance can reduce total operating costs by 10-15% over an aircraft’s lifecycle.
The Toronto parts pool also impacts working capital. Traditional MRO models require airlines to stock millions in inventory. By shifting this responsibility to AFI KLM E&M under a “power-by-the-hour” model, Air Canada converts fixed costs into variable ones – a key advantage as it manages $14 billion in long-term debt.
Supporting the 787’s advanced systems presents unique challenges. The Dreamliner uses 32% composite materials compared to 12% in previous Boeing models, requiring specialized repair techniques. AFI KLM E&M has invested in automated composite repair systems that can reduce patching time from 48 hours to 6 hours – critical for minimizing downtime on high-utilization aircraft flying 3,500+ annual hours.
“Our component strategy isn’t just about spare parts,” notes Josh Vanderveen of Air Canada. “It’s about integrating predictive maintenance data from 787 systems to anticipate failures before they occur.”
The partnership will likely utilize Airbus’s Skywise analytics platform, which AFI KLM E&M adopted in 2023. By analyzing real-time data from 787 health monitoring systems, the MRO can position components preemptively – potentially reducing unscheduled maintenance events by 30%.
As airlines increasingly view MRO partnerships as strategic differentiators, we’ll see more deals combining physical logistics with digital integration. AFI KLM E&M’s investment in 3D printing for cabin parts and APU components suggests future contracts may include on-demand manufacturing at hub locations like Toronto.
The industry is also moving toward sustainability-focused maintenance. AFI KLM E&M’s use of robotic cleaning systems that reduce water consumption by 80% could become contract requirements. For Air Canada, which aims for net-zero emissions by 2050, such green maintenance practices align with broader ESG goals.
This AFI KLM E&M and Air Canada agreement exemplifies how modern MRO partnerships combine operational pragmatism with strategic foresight. By localizing component support while integrating global resources and digital tools, airlines can better navigate the challenges of fleet expansion and technological complexity.
Looking ahead, we expect to see component pools become standard at major hubs, paired with AI-driven inventory management. As aviation continues its post-pandemic recovery, such innovative maintenance strategies will separate industry leaders from the competition. How long is the AFI KLM E&M and Air Canada contract? What makes the Toronto parts pool significant? How does this benefit Air Canada’s operations? Sources:
A New Era in Aviation Maintenance: AFI KLM E&M and Air Canada’s 787 Partnership
The Anatomy of a Decade-Long Partnership
Industry-Wide Shifts in MRO Strategy
Operational and Financial Implications
Fleet Modernization Economics
Technological Integration Challenges
Future Trajectory for Airline Maintenance
Conclusion
FAQ
The agreement spans 10 years, covering Air Canada’s current and future 787 fleet through 2034.
It’s the first dedicated component stock for 787s in Canada, enabling faster repairs and reducing reliance on global shipping networks.
Improves aircraft availability, stabilizes maintenance costs, and supports the airline’s aggressive international route expansion.
Aviation Business News,
AviTrader,
Aviation Week
MRO & Manufacturing
Satair and Joramco Extend 25-Year Partnership at MRO Middle East 2026
Satair and Joramco renew their 25-year supply agreement at MRO Middle East 2026, supporting Joramco’s maintenance operations and new contracts.
This article is based on an official press release from Satair and additional industry reporting regarding MRO Middle East 2026.
At the MRO Middle East 2026 exhibition in Dubai, Satair, an Airbus Services company, and Joramco (Jordan Aircraft Maintenance Limited) officially announced the renewal of their long-standing Consumables and Expendables Supply Agreement. The deal marks the continuation of a strategic partnership that has spanned more than a quarter of a century, reinforcing the critical role of integrated supply chains in the growing Middle Eastern aviation maintenance sector.
According to the announcement, the renewed agreement is designed to secure a consistent flow of essential spare parts for Joramco’s base maintenance operations in Amman, Jordan. By locking in this supply chain solution, Joramco aims to minimize “Aircraft on Ground” (AOG) risks and reduce the complexity of material management for its expanding customer base.
The partnership between Satair and Joramco is one of the most enduring in the region. For over 25 years, Satair has served as a primary provider of consumables and expendables, high-volume, low-cost parts essential for routine maintenance, to the Jordan-based MRO provider.
In the official release, the companies highlighted the operational benefits of the extension. The agreement allows Joramco to leverage Satair’s global distribution network, ensuring that parts are available precisely when needed. This “just-in-time” capability is vital for MROs (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul providers) striving to offer competitive turnaround times to airlines.
A primary focus of the renewal is the mitigation of supply chain disruptions. By outsourcing the management of consumables to Satair, Joramco can focus its internal resources on heavy maintenance and engineering tasks rather than logistics. The agreement reportedly covers a comprehensive range of Airbus and Boeing fleet requirements, aligning with Joramco’s diverse capabilities.
“This continued partnership with Satair ensures we have the right parts at the right time, allowing us to deliver superior turnaround times to our global customers.”
, Statement attributed to Joramco leadership regarding the renewal
The renewal comes amidst a flurry of activity at MRO Middle East 2026, where both companies have announced significant independent expansions. The event, held on February 4–5, 2026, has served as a platform for major industry shifts in the region. According to industry reporting from the event, Joramco has also secured a major five-year heavy maintenance agreement with the German leisure carrier Condor. This deal will see Joramco performing base maintenance on Condor’s entire Airbus fleet, including the A320ceo, A320neo, and A330neo. Additionally, Joramco celebrated the first graduates of its Structured On-the-Job Training (SOJT) program, a move aimed at addressing the global shortage of skilled aviation technicians.
Simultaneously, Satair has expanded its footprint in the sustainability sector. Reports from the event indicate Satair signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GAMECO (Guangzhou Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Co.) to enter the Used Serviceable Material (USM) market, addressing the rising demand for cost-effective and sustainable parts solutions.
The renewal of the Satair-Joramco agreement highlights a critical trend in the post-2025 aviation landscape: the prioritization of supply chain resilience. In an era where global parts shortages have frequently grounded fleets, MRO providers are increasingly moving toward long-term, integrated agreements with major distributors rather than relying on spot-market purchasing.
Furthermore, the Middle East’s trajectory as a global MRO hub is evident in these announcements. Joramco’s ability to secure European contracts like the Condor deal, backed by a robust supply chain from Satair, suggests that regional players are successfully competing on a global scale by combining geographic advantages with high-grade logistical reliability.
Satair and Joramco Extend 25-Year Supply Chain Partnership at MRO Middle East 2026
Strengthening a Quarter-Century Alliance
Operational Efficiency and AOG Reduction
Broader Context: MRO Middle East 2026 Developments
AirPro News Analysis
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources
Photo Credit: Satair
MRO & Manufacturing
Joramco Renews Maintenance Agreement with mas Cargo Airline for 2026
Joramco extends its maintenance contract with Mexican cargo airline mas for heavy checks on Airbus A330 freighters throughout 2026 at its Amman facility.
This article is based on an official press release from Joramco.
Joramco, the Amman-based aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility and engineering arm of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), has officially announced the renewal of its maintenance agreement with mas (formerly MasAir), a prominent Mexican cargo airline. The agreement was finalized and signed during the MRO Middle East 2026 exhibition in Dubai, marking a continuation of the strategic partnership between the two entities.
Under the terms of the renewed contract, Joramco will perform heavy base maintenance checks on the mas fleet of Airbus A330 freighters. The work is scheduled to take place throughout 2026 at Joramco’s facility at Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Jordan. This announcement underscores the MRO provider’s increasing traction in the global cargo sector and its ability to secure recurring business from international carriers outside its traditional regional stronghold.
According to the company’s announcement, the new deal focuses specifically on heavy base maintenance, often referred to as C-checks, for the carrier’s Airbus A330 fleet. These checks are critical for ensuring the continued airworthiness and operational reliability of the freighter aircraft, which are essential to mas’s global logistics network.
This renewal follows a successful initial collaboration established relatively recently. Joramco and mas first formalized their partnerships in October 2025 at the MRO Europe exhibition in London. That initial agreement covered maintenance checks that began in December 2025. The rapid renewal, signed just four months later, suggests a successful execution of the initial checks and a deepening of the business relationship.
In a statement regarding the renewal, Joramco’s leadership highlighted the significance of the repeat business.
“We are pleased to welcome more aircraft from mas at Joramco. This agreement reaffirms Joramco’s position as a trusted Global MRO provider of choice.”
, Adam Voss, CEO of Joramco
The agreement with mas aligns with Joramco’s broader strategy to expand its global footprint. By securing a renewal with a Latin American carrier, the Jordan-based MRO is demonstrating its competitiveness on a global scale, attracting airframes from the Americas to the Middle-East for heavy maintenance. The timing of this renewal is notable within the wider context of the MRO industry’s capacity constraints. In late 2025, Joramco inaugurated “Hangar 7,” a significant infrastructure expansion that reportedly increased its capacity to 22 parallel maintenance lines. This expansion appears to be paying dividends, allowing the facility to accommodate the “more aircraft” referenced by CEO Adam Voss.
Furthermore, the cargo market remains a demanding sector requiring high asset utilization. For a specialized Cargo-Aircraft airline like mas, which operates a modernizing fleet of Airbus A330 Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) aircraft, securing reliable MRO slots is a strategic priority. The quick transition from an initial contract in late 2025 to a full-year renewal for 2026 indicates that Joramco has successfully met the technical and turnaround time requirements demanded by the cargo carrier.
Joramco: A subsidiary of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), Joramco has operated for over 60 years. Based in Amman, Jordan, it provides airframe maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for Airbus, Boeing, and Embraer aircraft.
mas: Headquartered in Mexico City, mas (formerly MasAir) is a specialized cargo airline operating scheduled and charter freight services across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The airline has been actively expanding its capacity with Airbus A330 freighters to support its international network.
Sources:
Joramco Extends Maintenance Partnership with mas Cargo Airline for 2026
Scope of the Renewed Agreement
Strategic Context and Capacity Expansion
AirPro News Analysis
About the Companies
Photo Credit: Joramco
MRO & Manufacturing
Liebherr and Röder Expand MRO for Embraer E-Jet Landing Gear
Liebherr-Aerospace and Röder Präzision deepen cooperation to overhaul main landing gear for Embraer E-Jet E1 family, enhancing capacity and reducing turnaround times.
This article is based on an official press release from Liebherr-Aerospace.
Liebherr-Aerospace Lindenberg GmbH and Röder Präzision GmbH have officially announced a significant expansion of their MRO cooperation. According to a joint statement released in early February 2026, the new agreement tasks Röder Präzision with the overhaul of structural components for the main landing gear of the Embraer E-Jet E1 family. This move builds upon a pre-existing partnership that was previously limited to nose landing gear components.
The deepened collaboration comes as the global aviation industry faces rising demand for maintenance capacity. By integrating Röder Präzision’s Egelsbach facility into the supply chain for main landing gear structures, Liebherr aims to increase industrial capacity and reduce turnaround times (TAT) for operators of the E170, E175, E190, and E195 aircraft. The agreement is effective immediately, with operations expected to scale up throughout 2026.
As the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for the E-Jet landing gear system, Liebherr-Aerospace retains authority over the final product, while leveraging Röder’s specialized capabilities to handle the volume of structural repairs required by the aging global fleet.
The agreement establishes a clear division of responsibilities designed to optimize the overhaul process. While Röder Präzision takes on the industrial heavy lifting for individual components, Liebherr maintains control over the critical airworthiness certification and system integration.
Liebherr’s facility in Lindenberg remains the center of competence for the program. The OEM is responsible for the “top-level” processes, which include:
Röder Präzision, an established MRO provider, will handle the detailed industrial overhaul of the structural parts. Their scope includes:
According to the announcement, Röder has invested in expanded machinery and specific employee qualification programs to meet the technical demands of the main landing gear, which involves larger and more complex components than the nose gear they previously handled.
The timing of this agreement is driven by the lifecycle of the Embraer E-Jet E1 fleet. The aircraft family, which entered service in the mid-2000s, is currently experiencing a “bow wave” of heavy maintenance requirements.
Landing gear overhaul intervals for the E-Jet are typically set at 10 years or 20,000 flight cycles for the E190/195, and 12 years or 30,000 flight cycles for the E170/175. With a significant portion of the global fleet reaching these milestones simultaneously, the demand for overhaul slots has surged. By utilizing a domestic German supply chain, Liebherr intends to minimize logistics costs and shipping times, offering a faster alternative to non-European vendors. “This cooperation is a win-win situation. We are covering global needs that are sure to arise in the near future. At the same time, we can offer our customers greater capacities and faster turnaround times thanks to short delivery routes.”
— Gerd Heinzelmann, Managing Director, Liebherr-Aerospace Lindenberg GmbH
Bastian Heberer, CEO of the Röder Group, emphasized that the deal is built on a foundation of trust established during their previous work on nose landing gear.
“We are very pleased to be able to deepen the long-standing, trust-based partnership with Liebherr with this agreement. With our targeted investments in machinery and the qualification of our employees, we are a reliable partner for Liebherr.”
— Bastian Heberer, CEO, Röder Group
This agreement highlights a growing trend in the MRO sector where OEMs are increasingly relying on trusted third-party providers to manage capacity constraints. While OEMs like Liebherr hold the intellectual property and certification authority, the sheer volume of mature fleets, like the E-Jet E1, requires more industrial throughput than many OEMs can manage alone without expanding their own physical footprint.
By outsourcing the component-level repair work to Röder while keeping the high-value assembly and certification in-house, Liebherr effectively creates a “hybrid” MRO model. This allows them to scale capacity rapidly in response to the current market surge without bearing the full capital expenditure of building new component repair shops. For operators, the promise of a “domestic solution” within Germany suggests a focus on supply chain resilience, reducing the risk of delays associated with cross-border logistics.
What aircraft are covered by this agreement? When does the new cooperation begin? Does Röder Präzision certify the landing gear? Sources: Liebherr-Aerospace
Liebherr-Aerospace and Röder Präzision Expand Partnership for Embraer E-Jet Landing Gear Overhaul
Operational Division of Labor
Liebherr-Aerospace (Lindenberg)
Röder Präzision (Egelsbach)
Strategic Context: The E-Jet “Overhaul Wave”
AirPro News Analysis
Frequently Asked Questions
The agreement covers the Embraer E-Jet E1 family, which includes the E170, E175, E190, and E195 models.
The cooperation is effective immediately, with the volume of overhaul work expected to scale up successively throughout 2026.
No. Röder performs the overhaul of structural components, but Liebherr-Aerospace retains responsibility for final testing and airworthiness certification.
Photo Credit: Liebherr
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