Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Limited (HAECO Group) and Cathay Pacific Airways Limited have renewed their maintenance partnership covering exchange and overhaul services for the carrier’s Boeing 777 landing gear.

Announced in a press release on October 14, 2026, the agreement secures dedicated maintenance capacity for a critical component of Cathay Pacific’s long-haul operations. The arrangement leverages HAECO’s regional footprint, dividing specialized overhaul tasks and physical component replacement between facilities in the China Mainland and Hong Kong to reduce logistical overhead.

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Operational integration and fleet support

Under the terms of the agreement, HAECO Landing Gear Services in Xiamen performs the teardown, inspection, and overhaul of the Boeing 777 gear assemblies. The physical removal and installation of the gear on the aircraft take place during scheduled base maintenance visits at HAECO facilities in either Hong Kong or Xiamen.

This integrated approach is designed to streamline maintenance workflows and improve the rotation efficiency of spare landing gear. For an operator like Cathay Pacific, which relies on a fleet of 35 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft for its high-capacity and long-haul routes, minimizing downtime during heavy maintenance is a primary operational objective.

Keith Brown, Director Engineering at Cathay Pacific, highlighted the operational benefits of the integrated service model.

Beyond the core services, we value the broader support and customer care that come with HAECO Landing Gear Services being part of the HAECO Group. This agreement provides important overhaul and exchange support while maintaining the high standards of safety, quality and operational performance that our operation depends on.

A decades-long corporate relationship

The commercial ties between HAECO and Cathay Pacific are foundational to both organizations, dating back to HAECO’s establishment in 1950. The relationship is underpinned by shared corporate ownership. Swire Pacific Limited, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate, wholly owns HAECO and maintains a 45 percent controlling stake in Cathay Pacific.

While airframe and line maintenance have been constants, the specialized landing gear partnership was formalized in 2010. That year, HAECO Landing Gear Services completed its first overhaul for a Cathay Pacific Boeing 747. Over the subsequent 16 years, the program expanded to support multiple widebody types, including the Boeing 747-400, the Boeing 747-400ERF freighter, the Boeing 777-300, and the Boeing 777-300ER.

To date, HAECO has completed more than 200 landing gear deliveries under this specific partnership framework.

Gerald Steinhoff, Chief Commercial Officer at HAECO Group, noted the longevity of the arrangement in the company’s release. “This landing gear overhaul programme reflects the confidence built through consistent performance and close collaboration, as well as our shared commitment to safety and operational excellence,” Steinhoff stated.

Broader expansion in the Asia-Pacific MRO market

The Cathay Pacific renewal follows a series of recent contract acquisitions for HAECO as the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) provider expands its footprint in the Asia-Pacific region.

On September 24, 2026, HAECO secured a new landing gear overhaul agreement with Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA). A day prior, on September 23, 2026, the company announced an expanded engine services partnership with Garuda Indonesia covering maintenance for the GE Aerospace GE90 turbofan, the exclusive powerplant for the Boeing 777-300ER.

These agreements highlight the scale of HAECO’s current operations. The MRO provider employs approximately 15,000 staff globally across 14 operating companies, with facilities spanning Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland, Europe, and the Americas.

Safran Electrical & Power has inaugurated a 5,700-square-meter extension at its Temara facility in Morocco, marking the site’s 20th anniversary and expanding its capacity to produce electrical harnesses for major commercial and military aircraft programs.

Announced in a company press release on October 13, 2026, the expansion is projected to create 400 new jobs. The development reinforces Morocco’s growing prominence in the global aerospace supply chain and supports production ramp-ups for Airbus platforms.

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Expanding capacity for Airbus production

The inauguration ceremony in Aïn Atiq was attended by Moroccan Minister of Industry and Trade Ryad Mezzour, French Ambassador to Morocco Philippe Lalliot, and senior Safran executives, including Safran Electrical & Power CEO Bruno Bellanger and Safran Electrical & Power Morocco President Leïla El Ghrib. The newly completed extension brings the total surface area of the Temara site to 31,400 square meters.

The facility specializes in the design and production of electrical cables and equipment. According to the company, the site manufactures approximately 93,000 electrical harnesses each year. These components are supplied to major civil and military aerospace programs, including the Airbus A320 and Airbus A350 families, as well as Airbus Helicopters platforms such as the H160.

The expansion is designed to accommodate growing production demands as aircraft manufacturers work to increase output rates across key commercial lines.

“This anniversary and this new extension demonstrate the confidence Safran has placed in Morocco and its talent for the past twenty years. Thanks to the commitment of our teams, the Témara site has become an essential part of our industrial network. This new milestone will enable us to support the growth of our activities and prepare for the challenges of tomorrow’s aerospace industry.”

The statement was attributed to Serge Pons, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Interconnection Systems Eurasia for Safran.

Two decades of Moroccan aerospace integration

The history of the Temara site began in 2005 with the integration of Gespec into the Safran Group. The plant was officially inaugurated the following year in 2006. Over the past two decades, the facility has undergone several phases of expansion to meet increasing supply chain requirements.

The site currently employs more than 1,600 people. According to reporting by Maghreb Arabe Presse, the new extension is expected to create an additional 400 jobs in the region.

Morocco has established itself as Africa’s largest aerospace manufacturing hub. Safran’s continued expansion in the country aligns with broader industry trends of nearshoring and supply chain diversification. The French aerospace group has maintained a presence in Morocco for 26 years and currently employs over 5,500 people across multiple sites, making it a leading player in the nation’s aviation sector.

Broader investments and sustainability targets

The Temara extension follows a series of recent investments by Safran in its Moroccan operations. During the Marrakech Airshow held from October 7 to October 10, 2026, Safran Aero Boosters announced the creation of Safran Oil Systems Maroc. Located in Nouaceur, the new facility will be dedicated to producing oil systems equipment for aircraft engines and represents a 120 million dirham investment, according to reporting by Barlamane.

In addition to the Temara and Nouaceur projects, Safran is investing in electric motors, landing brakes, and electromechanical activities at its Casablanca site. These developments are intended to support the aviation industry’s long-term goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

The company is also altering its energy sourcing in the region. On March 16, 2026, Safran announced an agreement to power its Moroccan industrial sites with domestically produced renewable electricity. The initiative aims to supply the facilities with 20 gigawatt-hours of low-carbon electricity throughout 2026.

Duncan Aviation has placed a prepaid order for 40 Gogo Galileo HDX inflight connectivity systems, securing immediate hardware availability for its business aviation customers amid a broader industry transition to Low Earth Orbit satellite networks.

The transaction, announced by Gogo Inc. in a press release on October 13, 2026, represents the connectivity provider’s largest single Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) order of the year. By stockpiling the electronically steered antennas, Duncan Aviation aims to bypass potential supply chain bottlenecks and offer flexible installation schedules for operators upgrading their aircraft.

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Securing supply for LEO upgrades

The business aviation sector is experiencing a rapid shift toward Low Earth Orbit (LEO) connectivity solutions, which promise lower latency and higher bandwidth than legacy geostationary or air-to-ground systems. To meet this demand, Duncan Aviation opted to pre-purchase the hardware.

Nate Klenke, modifications sales manager at Duncan Aviation, noted that rising expectations around inflight connectivity are driving the demand for the Galileo HDX.

“Having equipment on hand gives us greater flexibility to plan installations around our customers’ schedules. We have confidence in the technology and in Gogo’s ability to support our team and customers over the long term,” Klenke said.

Michael Skou Christensen, chief revenue officer at Gogo, stated that the company is prepared to support Duncan Aviation as it rolls out the high-performance system to a wider range of aircraft.

The Gogo Galileo HDX architecture

The Galileo HDX is an Electronically Steered Antenna (ESA) designed specifically for business aircraft, ranging from light jets and turboprops to large-cabin airframes. The hardware weighs 21.6 pounds (9.80 kilograms) and features a compact form factor suitable for both retrofit and line-fit installations.

Operating on the Eutelsat OneWeb enterprise-grade LEO network, the HDX system is engineered to deliver maximum download speeds of 60 Mbps and upload speeds of 11 Mbps.

Expanding certification and market reach

The 40-system order builds on a prior collaboration between the two companies. On September 11, 2024, Gogo and Duncan Aviation completed the first installation of the Galileo HDX on a Bombardier Challenger 300, a milestone that initiated the flight testing phase for the new antenna.

Since that initial installation, the system’s approved applications have expanded. On July 1, 2026, Gulfstream Aerospace secured a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) to install the Galileo HDX on Gulfstream G650 and G650ER aircraft, broadening the aftermarket availability for large-cabin operators.

Gogo, headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, has also been expanding its broader communications portfolio. On October 8, 2026, the company announced a multi-million dollar contract with an overseas sovereign customer, further diversifying its multi-orbit, multi-band offerings across business and government aviation sectors.

AirPro News analysis

Duncan Aviation’s decision to prepay for 40 unallocated systems highlights a strategic shift in how major MRO providers manage connectivity upgrades. Rather than ordering hardware on a per-aircraft basis, securing a bulk inventory protects the MRO from supply chain volatility and provides a competitive advantage in scheduling. As operators increasingly view high-speed LEO connectivity as a baseline requirement rather than a luxury, MROs with hardware on hand will likely capture a larger share of the retrofit market.